Remnant
by rising.galaxy
Summary: When Obi-Wan takes on his undercover mission, he leaves his relationship with Anakin in tatters. This wouldn't be that much of a problem, except for the fact that Darth Maul is back and wants revenge on Obi-Wan. But instead of getting back at Obi-Wan directly, he decided that just like how he took his master, he's going to take his padawan as well. Ahsoka just wants a break.
1. Chapter 1

Anakin and Ahsoka walked down the busy walkways of Coruscant. Holographic ads were displayed in neon colors everywhere they looked. Women advertising new hair and skin products, an ad for the newest kind of speeder were all flashing before their eyes. Ahsoka took a deep breath; taking in the not so clean air that smelled like garbage, perfume, food, and exhaust from all of the speeders. People from all races and classes were moving about. Some were begging for money, others were flaunting the money that they had. Out on the streets, being a Jedi didn't make them stand out as much. When everyone is trying to stand out no one really ends up standing out. Which is what makes Coruscant so special- at least to some that is.

Ahsoka looked up at Anakin, who seemed to be lost in thought during their whole walk to the diner. The last time they were here is when Obi-Wan went on his undercover mission used Anakin to make it seem more believable. Except at the time, everyone thought that he was dead, except for Anakin. She could tell that her master wasn't really over it yet. Every interaction that had taken place between Anakin and Obi-Wan was too stiff and too formal. Even too formal for Master Obi-Wan and way out of character for Anakin. She could tell that what had happened upset him but none of them knew how to approach the subject. Anakin was mad because he had been used, Obi-Wan was mad because of how Anakin reacted and Ahsoka was just sad.

They approached the diner and walked in as the doors slid open. Ahsoka and Anakin took their usual window seat and Ahsoka had to break the silence.

"You've been awfully quiet today, Master." She commented. Anakin looked her in the eye and shrugged.

"Maybe. Just thinking." He said.

"Thinking about what?" Ahsoka asked "The next upgrade you're going to give R2?" She teased.

That made Anakin smile, which helped ease her mood in return. "Oh, for sure. I was thinking he would love if I gave him a new paint job."

"Hmmmmm, I doubt it." Ahsoka said.

"What can I get for you?" The waitress droid asked as she rolled over to the pair. Anakin looked at Ahsoka and her response was looking back at him with the same confused face.

"Um, we haven't decided yet." Anakin said to the droid. She rolled away, muttering something about how humans could never do anything fast enough. Ahsoka chucked and looked back at Anakin. He was not as quiet as before, but he was still more standoffish than usual, which really meant something. Her master usually didn't hold back on his thought about most things but ever since the incident with Obi-Wan, he had been holding back a lot.

She knew that she wasn't the only one who noticed this; Master Plo had gone to lunch with her the other day and asked her about Master Skywalker and Kenobi. Specifically, Master Skywalker, since he had also noticed a bit of a personality change in him during and after Obi-Wan's undercover mission. She told him that she wasn't exactly sure what had transpired between the two of them, but it was making most of their interactions as a trio very awkward. In addition, she had noticed that neither of them had ever apologized to each other. Master Plo noted that it was probably because they both thought they were right.

Ahsoka thought that they were both wrong, but she kept that opinion to herself.

"Hey" Anakin said. Ahsoka looked up at him, hoping that he couldn't read her emotions very well through the force. She realized that he probably could anyway, but she hoped that he wouldn't say anything about it.

"You haven't been listening to anything that I've said. I asked you three times what you felt like having."

"Oh, um… I'm not sure." Ahsoka said sheepishly. Anakin rolled his eyes and smiled slightly.

"Well you should decide soon before that droid comes back and starts trash taking us again." He said. The droid never got the chance to come back and trash talk again because as soon as Anakin finished speaking, an explosion tore through the side of the building.

Ahsoka was flung through the diner and landed roughly on her side. She could hear people shouting for help and running around. As her vision cleared, she saw that the restaurant had lost power and people were running around everywhere. There was a huge smoldering hole torn in the side of the building, making the metal walls look like they were just paper.

She got up and looked around. Standing in a crouched formation, she spotted the enemy. Six men wearing all black and concealing their faces walked in to the diner through the hole that they had created. They all held large blasters and were pointing them at the customers to make them cower in fear. Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers, which turned all the attention to her. Three of the men pointed their blasters towards her and began to fire. While deflecting blaster bolts, she looked around for Anakin. He usually beat her to getting back on his feet, so she was expecting to see his blue blade in the air. Instead she only saw hers and the blaster bolts coming towards her.

"Master!" She shouted when she realized that she couldn't see him.

"Master!" She called again when there was no response. Growing frantic, Ahsoka dove behind an upturned table and looked around the edges of it. She saw customers hiding and holding each other behind other upturned tables, but none with her Master behind them.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka shouted urgently. She heard a muffled yell and perked up from behind the table. The other three men had bound Anakin and were trying to take him out through the hole that they had come in from. Anakin struggled to free himself, but one of the men injected him with something in his neck and his body became limp.

Ahsoka screamed and leaped forward. She couldn't let her master get taken away. She couldn't. Not after seeing what it did to Anakin. She didn't want to experience that kind of pain.

Ahsoka ran forward while deflecting as many blaster bolts as she could. The other three men had noticed that she was beginning to advance and threw and explosive towards her. Ahsoka used the force to help curb the blast and protect the customers. When she looked back up again, her master was gone, and so were the men that took him.

She ran through the hole that they had come through and out into the busy walkways. There was no sign of any commotion anywhere. It was like they had just disappeared.

Ahsoka fell to her knees and stared at the ground. She noticed that small puddles were accumulating in front of her and she touched her face. It was wet and warm.

She didn't even notice that she had cried. What kind of Jedi was she?


	2. Chapter 2

Ahsoka slowly pulled herself up from the ground and looked around. Police were surrounding the crime scene and questioning the customers. Bright sirens illuminated the destroyed diner behind her. No one seemed to pay her any mind though. Witnesses were huddled up in little groups. Some were having their wounds attended to while others sat and spoke in hushed voices. Occasionally she could hear them whisper words like "Jedi", "lightsaber" and "missing".

"Over there sir, she looks like one of the Jedi." A woman's voice  
said. Ahsoka turned around and saw two cops approaching her from the diner.  
They stepped over the rubble and walked towards Ahsoka while having their heads  
lowered in conversation. Their hats covered their faces leaving only their  
mouths showing.

"We are thankful for your service." The woman said. "Many of the witnesses  
here spoke about your bravery tonight." Ahsoka smiled back at the woman. Then  
she looked down as she blinked back tears. Knowing that it wasn't enough to  
save Anakin, despite what the police said was beginning to tear a hole in her  
heart.

"Thank you" She said softly while looking back up.

"Do you know why these people attacked the diner this evening?"  
The woman's boss asked her.

"I don't, but I wish that I did, officer." Ahsoka responded.

"Weren't there two Jedi according to the witness reports?" The  
woman asked, "Where is the other Jedi?"

"Gone." Ahsoka said as her lip trembled. She took a deep breath  
and tried to release some of her emotion into the force. "He was taken by the  
attackers."

The two cops raised their eyebrows and looked at each other.

"This is out of our jurisdiction." The male officer said. "We will  
need to inform the Jedi council about this and the senate." He looked back at  
Ahsoka "Unless you have told them already yourself."

"I haven't yet." She said.

"Well we can do it and send in the evidence that we have gathered  
so far to the senate and council to work with. Get on that, Sergeant."

"Yes sir." The woman said and walked away. Ahsoka watched her pull  
a comm out of her pocket and begin to speak into it. She could hear  
Senator Amidala's voice in the background but tried to tune her out.

"What is your name?" The  
officer asked her while pulling out a small black device.

"Ahsoka Tano." She stated as calmly as possible.

"What were you doing at the diner this evening?"

"Getting dinner with my Master."

"How did you get to the diner?"

"We took a speeder from the temple."

"Is this something that you two do often?"

"When we get the chance to, yes"

"What were you doing when the attack occurred?"

"Ordering dinner"

"What happened after the blast occ-" "Ahsoka!" Obi-Wan called. She  
turned her head and saw Master Kenobi walking towards her with a grim look on  
his face.

"Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka exclaimed, relief evident in her  
voice. She left the officer and ran towards him.

"Master I-" She began.

"Later, Ahsoka. I know what happened." He turned back towards the  
officer. "Is there anything else that you need from her?"

"No, Master Jedi" The officer said and walked away to find  
his colleagues. Obi-Wan looked back at Ahsoka. "Let's get out of here. We can  
talk when we are back at the temple."

Ahsoka followed Master Kenobi through the busy streets of  
Coruscant. The same dazzling bright lights from before seemed like they were  
mocking her. How could they be so bright and merry when she had just lost one  
of the most important people in her life? Who knew where her master was, or  
what they were doing to him. Ahsoka tried to sense him through the force, but  
it felt like it was muted. She frowned; the attackers had given him something  
that contained a force dampener.

"Ahsoka, I can sense your emotions through the force." Obi-Wan  
said as they turned around a corner.

"Sorry, Master" She mumbled.

"It's alright. I understand. Just try to not let your emotions get  
the better of you." He said as they approached the speeder. Ahsoka climbed into  
the passenger seat and waited for Obi-Wan to start the engine. They took off  
and flew through the heavy traffic of the city. Ahsoka noticed that Master  
Kenobi drove slowly (a little too slow sometimes) and safely. The exact  
opposite of how her master drove her to the diner. She watched as traffic sped  
past them on the way back to the temple.

Obi-Wan looked at Ahsoka out of the corner of his eye and sighed.  
Usually she would be telling him about something silly that Anakin had done or  
updating him on all of the padawan gossip. She was just starting out into the  
distance with her head turned away from him. Her legs were curled up in the  
seat slightly, like as if she was trying to make herself seem smaller.

"When we get back, the council is going to question you, Ahsoka."  
Obi-Wan said. She turned to look at him. Her eyes were dull and bloodshot.

"I know" She said softly. "I'm just not sure what I'm going to  
tell them."

"Tell them the truth." Obi-Wan replied as the pulled into the  
hangar.

"I know, but how?" Ahsoka asked while jumping out of the speeder. Obi-Wan  
moved to follower her but then thought better of it. She probably needed some  
time to cool down, but he knew that he had to speak to her later before the  
council did.


	3. Chapter 3

Ahsoka hurried through the halls of the Jedi temple. Her head was bent towards the ground as she walked as quickly as she could to her room. She wanted to run, wanted no one to see her, but Jedi don't run, and Jedi don't hide. That's at least what the public perception of them was. Right now, that's all Ahsoka wanted to do though. She walked into her quarters, sat down on her bed and curled up into a ball.

She felt like she wanted to cry, but her eyes felt like they had been completely dried. Sighing in frustration, Ahsoka sat back up and looked out the window. The lights from the buildings and passing speeders made it look like as if she was underwater like how the gungans live on Naboo.

The thought of Naboo brought tears to Ahsoka's eyes this time. How was Padme going to react to all of this? Ahsoka realized that there was probably a good chance that she already knew what happened and was working with other senators to figure out a plan. Still though, she was really close with Anakin. The way they smiled and laughed around each other so light and free, it reminded Ahsoka about how young they actually were. Her master was the youngest Jedi to ever be knighted, and Senator Amidala is one of the youngest and most successful politicians to date. Thinking about that just made Ahsoka even angrier. Sometimes they both looked so old, but they really weren't that much older than herself.

"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan called, his voice muffled through the door.

"Come in." She replied. Master Kenobi walked in slowly and stood by her desk.

"I thought you would be meeting with the council." Ahsoka said.

"I was. They asked me to come get you in person." She instantly became on guard. Usually Master Windu or Master Skywalker would comm her to meet them in the council chambers. Sending another council member to get someone was rare and serious.

"I think that we should talk for a bit before heading over though." Master Kenobi said softly.

"Ahsoka," he began "The council wants for you to give your best account of what happened. I know that it's going to be stressful, and hard to mask your emotions in front of everyone, but I want to tell you that the council…" He trailed off and Ahsoka gave him a questioning look.

"The council…?" She prompted him

"The council understands the kind of distress that you are currently in. Well, some of us do at least." He added with a sad smile. "Ahsoka, right now I am just asking for you to try your best to remain strong. We will find Anakin. We have to." Master Kenobi stated. Ahsoka stared at him for a moment, wondering if he said it like that because he was trying to reassure her, or if he was trying to reassure himself.

"We will." Ahsoka agreed. She got up from her bed and walked towards the door. Master Kenobi followed her out.

"Well, we don't want to keep the council waiting, do we?" He said as her door slid shut behind them.

"Should we inject more of the drug?" A voice whispered. "No, not yet." Another one replied. "He's not awake yet."

"But what if it's worn off by now?"

"Then he would have woken up idiot!"

"I don't think so. Its main purpose is a force inhibitor, not to keep someone unconscious."

This was the conversation that Anakin was currently overhearing. He was using every technique he had ever learned to stay as still as possible. Even then, he could hear his heart beating in his ears, feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins and his body shivering from the cold.

"Well, why don't see for ourselves if he's awake or not." The first voice that spoke earlier said. The groaning sound of metal straining against metal startled Anakin, but he hoped that the guards didn't notice." The first guard stepped inside the cell where he was being held and shuddered while pulling his cloak tighter to his body.

"He's probably still unconscious because it's so karking cold in here." He walked over to Anakin and kicked him in the ribs. Hard. Anakin wanted to cry out, but he had a feeling that revealing that he was awake would only make things worse for himself later.

"Well, he looks like he's still asleep. What should we do?"

"I think that Maul wanted us to bring him to him once he woke up, but he hasn't ye-" They both froze when they head the distinct sound of Maul's legs walking against the cold metal floor.

"Sir, we were-" the second guard began.

"He is awake." Maul said. "He is trying to trick you." Anakin cursed mentally. Trust a (former) Sith lord to figure out what he was doing. Maybe he should have paid more attention when Obi-Wan was trying to teach him how to shield using the force.

Maul bent down and picked up Anakin by the neck. His eyes flew open and he glared at Maul.

"If it isn't the hero with no fear." Maul snarled into Anakin's face. "You look very afraid right now though, Skywalker." He spat out. "What are you going to do? No master, no army, no weapon. You're just a child who acts like he knows what he's doing. But I can see through you. I know that you're lying." Maul threw Anakin back down onto the ground. He coughed and gasped for air while trying to pull himself up.

"Inject him again. This time, use the vine snake venom." Maul said while walking away.

"We'll speak again, Skywalker." He said. The two guards approached Anakin and one pulled out a syringe. Anakin used the force to push them back against the wall and jumped over their bodies to try and make a break for it. He ran out the cell door and began to run down the hall. After about 10 seconds of running however, he noticed that he wasn't going anywhere anymore. Anakin could feel the pressure from the force closing in on his throat as Maul lifted him up in the air and choked him.

"Bold of you to try and escape already Skywalker, but I am not surprised by this behavior." Maul said as he got closer to Anakin. "I know that trying to teach you by instruction won't work very well, so why don't we use some examples instead?" The two guards from earlier walked towards Anakin, and one of them was holding a syringe in their hand. "You'll be setting the example for why it's a stupid idea to try and escape." Maul curled his fingers closer together and Anakin gasped for air.

"Inject him with the venom. Now!" Maul snarled. The guard ran up and pulled up Anakin's sleeve. He was trying to struggle, but his brain was receiving so little oxygen that the effort to try and thwart the guard ended up being him moving his arm slightly away.

The guard stuck Anakin with the syringe. Maul released him, and Anakin fell to the floor like a ragdoll. As soon as he had enough air in his lungs, he screamed and screamed, tears streaming down his face as he faded back into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Ahsoka stood in the center of the council room. The gazes of the members of the council felt like they were seeing right through her, down to her soul. The could probably see how she just wanted to curl back up into a ball and hide.

"Padawan Tano," Master Windu called out as he leaned forward in his seat. "Can you please tell the council about what happened earlier when you were out with Skywalker?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath and locked eyes with Master Kenobi for a moment. He gave her a small smile- one that no one else probably noticed.

"Master Skywalker and I were heading to the diner to get dinner earlier this evening. It's something that we usually do after a long mission together." She paused and looked around the room. All of the faces were hard to read, but she could get hits of condolences from Master Plo and Master Kenobi. "We had sat down in a booth and were looking over the menu when the attack happened. The explosion happened by where we were sitting, which is how we were separated." Ahsoka stopped to take a deep breath. You weren't supposed to show your emotions as a Jedi, especially in front of the council, but Ahsoka couldn't help herself. She was filled with regret and sorrow, which she was pretty sure Master Windu was picking up on.

"The blast caused me to be flung towards the back of the restaurant. When I got up, I started calling for my master and there was no response. When I yelled, the attackers began to shoot at me. After a few minutes, I saw them carrying Master Skywalker out of the diner. They injected him with something, and that… that was it." She looked down and tried to not let the council see the tears pooling in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea who these attackers were?" Master Windu asked.

"None. They were completely covered, and none of them were force sensitive from what I could tell." She replied while looking up.

"This also brings up the question of why someone would want to kidnap Skywalker." Master Plo mentioned. "He is one of our most successful generals in the army. Perhaps someone has a vendetta against him?"

"That could be it," Master Kenobi began "But I have a feeling that it's something else. Someone more ruthless."

"Yourself, Explain, Kenobi." Master Yoda said.

"Well, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened to Anakin before. Usually when it does though, he is kidnapped or injured out in the field. Never on Coruscant, and especially so close to the temple. Whoever is behind this is not only bold but knows what they're doing."

"I agree." Master Windu said. Ahsoka was surprised to hear that. Usually it seemed like Master Windu only tolerated Master Skywalker, and you could tell when you put them in a room together. "This is the case for most Jedi who get kidnapped and used as bait as well. No one comes this close to the temple."

"Well, some do." Master Mundi pointed out. "Although this is rare, it is very concerning. At the moment, we have almost no idea who took Skywalker and why." He turned to face Ahsoka.

"Do you know of anyone who would do something like this, Padawan Tano?" He asked her.

"None. I had some ideas earlier, but as the council pointed out, they probably would have acted when we were out on another mission, since it would be easier for them to capture Master Skywalker."

"Hmmmm, discuss this more we will." Master Yoda muttered. "Dismissed you are, Padawan Tano."

"Thank you, Masters." Ahsoka said while bowing. She walked as fast as she could towards the elevator. Once she was inside and the doors shut, Ahsoka pushed the button for her floor. Then she let out a shaky sob and leaned back against the wall.

"Masters" Obi-Wan began "This may sound like a stretch, but I think that this might have something to do with Maul." The room became quiet, and the tension was palpable when the former sith lord's name was spoken.

"And how is that?" Mace Windu said.

"Because he is the only one who is skilled enough to pull something like this off. Of course, Count Dooku would be as well, but that is not really his style."

"On top of that, we know that the Count has other things that he has to worry about." Plo Koon added.

"But Maul has a vendetta against you, Kenobi." Shaak Ti added. "I agree, that there is a chance that Maul is behind this. Who else do we know that would be able to pull something like this off? Cad Bane is a skilled bounty hunter, but he isn't skilled enough to take out someone like Skywalker. Nor is he swift enough to execute something like this. I think that whoever is behind this has been trained in the force. From Ahsoka's story, the attackers knew what they were doing, and it sounds like they injected Skywalker with a force suppressant."

"Agree with Shaak Ti, I do." Master Yoda said. "The dark side of the force, the attacker has been trained in." Suddenly, a blue hologram appeared in the center of the room.

"Chancellor." Master Windu said while inclining his head slightly.

"Master Jedi." The Sith Lord began. "I have heard about what has happened to young Skywalker. My condolences" He said, his voice dripping like poisonous honey.

"Have an idea, we do, for who is behind this." Master Yoda said.

"You do?" The Chancellor replied.

"Yes, believe Maul is behind this, we do."

"Now, we don't want to jump to conclusions but-" Master Mundi began

"It's the only idea we have right now that is plausible." Master Kenobi said.

"Maul? I am impressed by his sheer determination." Palpatine said. "Why would he do something like this?"

"We are unsure at the moment," Master Windu said "But we think it could be linked to Maul wanting revenge on Obi-Wan."

"Surely there are other ways that he could have done that? And to attack so close to the temple as well. He is bold, but that might be his downfall." Palpatine said

"You might be right, your excellency." Master Plo said. "To attack so close to the Jedi and the senate was foolish. If there is any evidence left behind from the crime scene, we will be sure to find it."

"I have no doubt that you will." Palpatine said before ending the call.


	5. Chapter 5

Palpatine laced his fingers together as he sat at his desk. He knew exactly why Maul would do something like this. Skywalker and Kenobi were a close pair- so close that it even made him doubt the effect that he was having on the boy at times. He was also aware that Maul had wanted revenge on not just Kenobi, but on him as well. Palpatine was confident that Maul knew that he had plans regarding Skywalker. He knew that Maul was impulsive, but he was not stupid. He had groomed Maul when he was a young boy as well, so Palpatine was sure he could spot the same behaviors taking effect. The chancellor got up and turned to face the window. Weighing his options, he looked at the pros and cons of interfering. It would eliminate a rival and speed up the process of getting Anakin back with the republic. There was the danger of being revealed to the Jedi- especially if they arrived to perform a rescue mission while he was trying to fight off Maul himself. No, perhaps it was better to operate from behind the scenes. He knew that Senator Amidala and Skywalker were close; she was the Senator in charge of his case. When she approached him about it, he could sense the raw emotion rolling off of her in waves through the force. Carefully composed behind a mask of makeup, she expressed her desire to help The Hero with no Fear.

Yes, that would be the way to do this. It also would help with morale- seeing the chancellor himself get involved with the consequences of the war. Perhaps this would make it easier to sway more determined politicians when they remember the deeds that he has done. No one would deny rescuing one of the republic's best generals, and no one would dare say no to Palpatine either.

Now came the issue of the Jedi. If Kenobi was not granted the rescue mission by the council- Palpatine decided that he would intervene. He would be granted the mission, and the council would not deny him. He will find Maul for him as well. Kenobi's attachment to Skywalker was something that he constantly tried to cover up, but it seeped through the force like water leaking through cracks in an old wall.

This then led to the predicament of where to find Maul. Palpatine was certain that he was on Mandalore, but he also knew that he needed to present evidence towards this claim. Then it begged another question- how did he come to know this information? The risk of being interrogated about this was too risky. It would be better to design some kind of political scandal to get the attention of the senate.

With this in mind, the Chancellor began to consider senators that had close ties to Mandalore. Again, Senator Amidala was the senator of choice for this. He knew that she had a close relationship with the Duchess of Mandalore. Perhaps in their meeting tomorrow morning, he would ask her how she has been doing, as a gesture of kindness.

A heavy silence filled the room after the Chancellor ended the call. Ahsoka looked at Master Kenobi, who gave her a slight smile.

"Do we have any information on where Maul could be?" Master Mundi asked.

"None." Master Plo responded softly. "We didn't even know that he was still alive until fairly recently."

"So how should we proceed with this investigation?" Master Windu asked "We have practically no information about the incident, who took Skywalker and why. We are going off of a guess that it was done by a former sith apprentice." Master Windu shared a look with Master Kenobi before continuing "It makes sense, but I feel as though we do not have enough information to proceed with certainty."

"The senate and the police will be giving us a report tomorrow around midday about anything that they have found that could be of use." Master Kenobi supplied. "Based off of the information that they provide us, we could plan our next move."

"How long." Ahsoka began, her voice wavering with emotion "How long until we are sure about where to look?" She asked while looking at Master Windu

"Hard to say, it is, Padawan Tano." Master Yoda replied. "Do what we must, we will. Meet tomorrow we will."

"Until tomorrow then." Master Windu said. "This council meeting is adjourned." The council members rose slowly to their feet from their chairs and began to shuffle towards the exit. Obi-Wan hoped to move faster than the others in order to catch Ahsoka again, but she moved very quickly when she wanted to. He figured that she had caught the first elevator out of the council chambers and was trying to get as far away from them as possible. Not that he could blame her, and it was a behavior that she shared with her master. At the thought of Anakin, a pang of sorrow ran through his body. He wanted to reassure Ahsoka that things would work out in the end, but he himself had no idea.

Master Yoda had always told him that all is as the force wills it. Sometimes though, Obi-Wan though as he entered the elevator to go to his quarter, that the force and himself were seeing things through very different perspectives.


	6. Chapter 6

Padme slammed her hands down on the desk. Her body was silhouetted by the early morning sun streaming in through the window behind her. Hairs fell out of their place and dangled in front of her face as she leaned over the reports that she had been given. She knew that they were missing something- they had to be. No one would just kidnap one of the republic's greatest generals without good cause. Especially on Coruscant. She knew that who- or whatever they were dealing with knew what they were doing. They knew how to fight against Jedi, and well too, if the report was correct.

"My Lady," Dorme began. "You should take a break from all of this. Reading the same papers over and over won't help you at this point."

Padme looked up at her handmaiden and sighed. "Something seems off Dorme. I can just tell." Padme said. "According witness reports, Anakin was taken within the first 10 minutes of the attack. Which meant that they were also efficient at what they did." Dorme was quiet, her eyes narrowed. Padme knew that she also found this suspicious. There was no way Anakin would go down without a fight, unless he was completely outmatched.

"I think that you're right, but there isn't much that you can do about it now." Dorme replied softly. "3PO, what time is the hearing at?" She asked the droid standing by the window.

"It is as 1200 standard time" 3PO responded. "You have 3 hours and 27 minutes until the hearing will begin. May I suggest that you take a break, Mistress Padme?"

Padme sighed "Maybe you guys are right." She turned off the data pads that she was reading and stood up straight. She ran her hands through her messed up hair, pushing the stray hairs that fell out of place back.

"I can tell that you're still thinking about this." Drome said with a slight smile. "Why don't I draw you a bath to help you calm down before the senate hearing later today?

Padme's shoulders visibly slumped- whether if it was from exhaustion or relief to take a break, Dorme didn't know.

"That sounds like a great idea, thank you Dorme."

Ahsoka and Master Kenobi stood at the doors to the lift that would take them up to the council chambers. She had never seen Master Kenobi pace before- or do anything really that indicated his current state of anxiety, but she was currently watching him pace back and forth while they waited in silence. Usually, Ahsoka didn't mind the silence that would fall between them occasionally. It was usually a content silence. This was tense; Ahsoka could sense Master Kenobi's shields leaking, and was feeling the worry, fear, and anger that were slipping out on occasion. Maybe if she had slept the night before, she would also have enough energy to pace around as well, but she spent the whole night tossing and turning instead.

What had happened just kept replaying in her head, but each time it did, she could always think of something that she could have don't differently- should have done differently, and then maybe Anakin would still be here with them. A dark part of herself sneered at her, and laughed each time she though of something new she could have done to prevent this. She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind. Trying to focus on something else, she listened to the constant tapping sound of Master Kenobi's boots hitting the floor, or the scent of the temple- which always smelled like old paper scrolls to her. The lift made a soft groaning noise, and the doors opened. The pair stepped inside, and watched the doors close.

Master Kenobi straightened out his tunic, ran his hands through his hair, took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. It was comforting to know that no matter what rank someone held, that they were all shaken up by what had happened. They rode in silence. Ahsoka would steal glances of Master Kenobi, saw the dark circles under his eyes, the way his mouth was set in a thin line, and the way his hands were clenched at his sides. As they neared the top floor where the council met, he looked back at her. They shared a small smile and a nod. Trying to encourage each other, but the reality was that neither of them was sure what was going to happen next.

The doors of the lift opened, and the pair walked out. Master Kenobi walked forward to take his seat on the council, and Ahsoka stood back by the entrance, waiting to be called forward.

"Begin, we shall." Master Yoda said. The center of the chambers lit up with the faces of senators, police and the chancellor. Everyone looked grim, tired, and worn out. Ahsoka tightened her shields as the meeting began. She couldn't afford to show emotion. Not now anyway.

The first thing that Anakin noticed when he woke up again was the cold. Then came the pain. His entire body felt like it was on fire, despite the fact that he was shivering. It felt as if fire was coursing through his veins, burning his body from the inside out, yet the outside part remained freezing. He laid there for a few moments, trying to gather his bearings. The room was mostly dark, except for light that was seeping through the holes and cracks in the cell door. He tried to sit up, but his vision began to spin, and his body only began to hurt even more.

"We all know why we are gathered here today." Master Windu began. "Officer, if you would please." The police officer sitting next to Padme stood up and began to read his report. Ahsoka was nodding along to herself with what he was saying. They didn't miss anything as far as she could tell, and the officer even had more witness accounts than Ahsoka was expecting.

"Padawan Tano, does this report sound correct to you?" Master Windu asked her Ahsoka was taken aback that he would ask her that, but then again, she was the only other member of the order that was present when the attack happened.

"Yes, it does." She said

"Do you know of anyone that would want to do this to your Master?"

"No, I don't." She said softly.

The nausea was overwhelming, the pain was overwhelming, his situation was overwhelming. Anakin tried to take a few deep breaths to combat everything he was feeling. In and out, just like how his Master had taught him. In and out. But that didn't work. Anakin rolled over onto his side and threw up what little left he had in his stomach. He hadn't eaten since the attack on the diner, so it was mostly just painful dry heaves. The bile burned in his throat as he heaved again, and the noise he was making alerted the guards outside his door that he was awake.

"Senator Amidala, if you would please read the senate's decisions." The chancellor said in a smooth voice.

Padme cleared her throat and stood up. "The galactic senate has reviewed the evidence brought forward by the Jedi council and the senate police. We have come to the conclusion that whoever is responsible for this attack has dealt with Jedi before, due to the efficiency of their plan. According to the police reports, Anakin Skywalker was taken within the first 10 minutes of the attack. This leaves little doubt for us to think that this was not a planned attack. The senate believes that someone aligned with the separatists is involved in the attack, and we believe that would explain why General Skywalker was taken." She took a deep breath and sat down again. Ahsoka locked eyes with Master Kenobi- he was hard to read now, but she was sure that he saw something in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. She knew he thought that Maul was behind this. The issue would be getting the rest of the council, the senate, and the chancellor to listen to him.

"He is awake, my lord." One of the guards said to Maul. The former sith smiled, but there was no light, no joy in his eyes.

"Excellent. Bring him to the doctor." The guard bowed and left to go get Anakin. When he approached the cell door again, he nodded at the other guard, and he opened the door. Moving quickly, they walked in and grabbed Anakin by each of his elbows. His head lolled and he tried to resist.

"It seems as though the venom has already begun to work." One of the guards said as they began to drag him down the hallway. "But according to the doctor, it wasn't a lethal dose."

"You mean this dose wasn't lethal. We can't speak about the others yet." The other guard said.

"This all sounds very reasonable." Master Kenobi said after Padme was finished. "However, I have a suggestion to pose to the room. I believe that Maul is behind this. This is something that I think that he would do, something that he had been meaning to do for a while."

"We had only known that Maul had survived within the last few months, which is when you last encountered him." Master Windu said while looking at Master Kenobi. "What makes you think this was his doing?"

"It was too clean. Maul was trained by the sith from a young age. He knows how to take down a Jedi without a problem."

"I agree." The chancellor said, shocking everyone in the room. "We know that Maul is capable of surviving feats that others wouldn't. We also know that he is a known Jedi killer."

"Not to mention, his drive for revenge." Master Kenobi said. "I think this sounds exactly like something that he would do."

"If revenge is what he wanted, why didn't he take you instead?" Master Mundi asked. Master Kenobi became tense. Ahsoka saw his shoulders tighten, his posture change.

"Because that would have been too easy."

The guards dragged Anakin down the hall, and then stopped. He tried to lift his head up, but didn't have the strength. He heard a door creak open, and light flooded his vision. He closed his eyes and tried to look away, but he was dragged into the room. The guards then threw him on top of a metal table, and strapped him down. Anakin tried to turn his head away from the light, but couldn't move his body. He heard the guards walk away and then he was alone.

"Do we have any other ideas for a lead on this case?" Padme asked. The council members looked around- Ahsoka noticed that they all looked slightly lost.

"It seems that we do not." Master Kenobi said, a slight smile on his face. Ahsoka could feel some of his joy- finally they were going to start looking for Anakin.

"Do we know where we should begin to look?" The chancellor asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"We do know that Maul is working with neither the republic or the separatists. I think we should look at neutral systems first, because it would be easier for him to hide there." Master Plo said.

"Begin looking we should. Up to you, this is, Obi-Wan." Master Yoda said. "And you, Padawan Tano."

After some period of time, Anakin heard footsteps. They were getting louder, and closer. He opened his eyes and turned his head. There was someone's waist there, and a toolbelt. Various tools and pockets were strapped on to it. That isn't what surprised him though. It was the Mandalorian blaster strapped to this persons' belt is what he found interesting. Cold hands gripped his face and forced him to look upward. A human face looked back, have covered by a surgeon's mask.

"You know" A voice said from underneath the mask. "I've always wanted to have a Jedi as my patient."


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing that Anakin was aware of was the pulsing in his head, and throughout his body. It wasn't like how the force hummed through his body, but a painful pulse, like as if his heart was trying to beat its way out of his body. The bright lights from the examination room were piercing their way through Anakin's eyelids. He groaned and turned his head to the side, forcing his eyes to open. A blurry figure stood above him. He could make out a cold smile on a face, and then his vision went dark again.

When he woke up again, the figure was gone. The pulsing was less intense, and his limbs didn't feel as heavy. Anakin tried to pick his head up, and look around, but he couldn't get very far due to the restraint around his neck. He then tried to move his arms and legs, but they were also bound to the table as well. He continued to struggle against the restraints using the limited strength that he had. With no weapons, no access to the force, and a fatigued body, the odds were stacked against him. A door slid open outside of Anakin's field of view, and footsteps approached him, getting louder.

"It's nice to see that you are awake, Skywalker." A female voice said from above him. Anakin could see part of her waste, the shiny Mandalorian blaster attached to her hip, along with other tools that Anakin wasn't sure what they would be used for. He didn't really want to find out either.

"What do you want?" Anakin asked through gritted teeth.

"What do I want? What an interesting question!" The doctor replied. "I personally want to see more advancements in the medical field." She leaned in closer to his ear "And what do you want, Anakin?" She asked him.

He shuddered as her breath tickled her neck. She smelled like anesthetic, but underneath was a metallic sent. "Well, personally I would like to leave." He said while jerking his head away from her.

"Well, you can't do that!" She said. The way she pronounced 'can't' and 'that' led Anakin to believe that this woman was Mandalorian. She had the accent, and the accommodating weapon. "You're going to help me with my medical advancements." She said while stepping away from him. "And once I've gotten what I wanted, then you'll be handed off to Maul."

She leaned forward, almost touching Anakin "And do you know what he wants?" She asked him softly.

"No." Anakin said in a neutral voice, his eyes looking straight ahead at the celling.

"He wants revenge."

Padme paced back and forth in the living room of her apartment. She was scheduled to meet with Satine at 19:00, and it was almost 20:00. Her dress billowed up behind her as she walked the length of her living room. Her small figure was silhouetted by the glowing lights of upper coruscant. She heard the sound of the door opening and quickly turned around.

"Mistress Padme," C-3PO began. "Your guest had arrived." The droid stated before moving out of the way. Satine stepped forward. Her face was covered by a long hood, and the majority of her body was shrouded by a cloak. Padme could recognize the high-quality material, and knew that it was some of the finest that Mandalore had to offer. Padme rushed forward to greet her friend. Satine quickly moved forward and the two embraced.

"It is so good to see you!" Satine exclaimed while pushing her hood back off of her face. "You know, it is quite tricky to contact those in the senate at all anymore, with all of the new blockades that the chancellor has put up."

Padme sighed. "I know. Each day I feel as if our freedoms are becoming more and more restricted." She sat down on the couch. "But how have you been? How are your people?"

Satine sat down on the couch next to her. "There has been an uprising. Many upper level politicians have sided with this new… outsider." Satine muttered angrily.

"What do you know about this person?" Padme asked while leaning in slightly.

"He is from Dathomir. And he goes by the name of Maul."

Padme sat their silently, her mouth slightly agape. "The same Maul from all of those years ago?"

"I believe so." Satine said softly. "I have seen him myself. He looks just as Obi-Wan described him to me."

"Satine, the Jedi council must know about this."

"I know." She sighed "I am worried about my people though. Many of us do not support the republic and their conquests. For their army to come to my planet- it would look very bad."

"You're right." Padme said while leaning back into the couch. "Satine, do you know anything about these people who are staging the uprising?"

"Not really, we are not completely sure who is behind it." She said while looking down at her lap.

"I think," Padme began. "That there is a connection here." Satine raised her head and look at her with a confused expression.

Padme took a deep breath. "A few days ago, Anakin Skywalker was kidnapped while here on Coruscant."

"Here?" Satine exclaimed. "In the heart of the republic?"

"Yes," Padme said while looking outside at the skyline. "In the upper levels too."

"Padme, I don't… I'm sorry. I know that you two are close." Satine replied softly while laying a hand on her shoulder.

"That's not all though," Padme responded. "When they searched the crime scene for clues, we found some remnants of the weapon they used to ambush Anakin." She turned back around to face Satine

"They were Mandalorian." Satine gasped softly.

"Do you think that there is some kind of connection?" Satine said. "Maul used to be a sith."

"Once a sith, always a sith." Padme responded darkly. "I'm sure there is some kind of connection between Maul and the uprising on your planet with the sudden kidnapping of Knight Skywalker."

She looked out the window. It had started to rain, blurring the lights of the skyline.

"There has to be."


	8. Chapter 8

Anakin tried to take deep breaths, doing his best to recall what his master spent years teaching him.

"In and out, Padawan. Feel the force around you flow like water." He would tell a young, and frustrated Anakin. Now, lying on this cold table, Anakin wished that he could feel anything other than the pain in his body. The thrumming ache of his limbs reminded him of how the force felt when he began to sink into it. There was no force here though, just his thoughts.

In the distance, footsteps were approaching. The doctor was humming a song to herself as she walked around the room. He assumed that she was grabbing certain medical devices for whatever her next experiment was for him.

Suddenly the operating table was being lifted upward. As his body rose, Anakin saw the doctor standing by a control panel, pressing a button. She stopped.

"Skywalker, do you know where your friends are?" She asked him.

He opened his mouth, but didn't speak. He would not take her bait. She giggled. It was high pitched and childlike, the opposite of how she presented herself. Her laugh sent shivers up his spine- how old was this person?

"That's what I though." She said, while peering at him through googles.

"I'm sure they're looking for me." Anakin said while staring her down.

"Oh, I'm sure they are." She said while wheeling over a new machine. Attached to it was a set of wires with nodes at the end. She began to shove them under the skin on his head. Anakin winced with each new piercing.

"The question is really if they'll find you in time or not." She said as she shoved another node into his cheek.

Obi-Wan walked through the walls of the Jedi temple, pondering his current situation. He was thinking about what he would tell Anakin, once they found him. He wrung his sleeves around his hands, worrying about the best way to tell his friend that he had to do what was asked of him. That even though the council is harsh and the senate is harsh, they are the law. Obi-Wan sighed. Sometimes having no law was better than having a bad law.

He made his way towards the library. A sad smile graced his face. He thought about all of the times that Anakin would wander down here as a Padawan. He never came when he to for classwork, but his curiosity couldn't keep him away from all of the knowledge that the temple had to offer him. In the library, Obi-Wan thought about the last time he had to come here to search for answers, and how that led to the discovery of the Mandalorian clones, and the start of the war. His mind stuck on Mandalore- Jango Fett, but also Satine, who he hadn't spoken to in a while. He figured that he should probably get in contact with someone from the planet soon, considering that new evidence was found that proved the weapons to be from Mandalorian origin.

His comm beeped. "Kenobi here."

"Obi-Wan," Padme responded. "Are you alone right now?"

He looked around "Yes, why?"

"Someone would like to speak to you." Padme said in a hushed voice. There was rustling on the other end of the comm before another voice spoke.

"Hello?" She said.

"Satine?" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "What, how are you with Padme right now?"

"It's a long story," She said while chuckling "But, I have heard about what has happened to Skywalker. I have information that I can provide you, that I think will help your search. Are you available at 2100?"

"Yes, I am" He responded hastily.

"Excellent. Can you meet Padme and I at her apartment?"

"Yes of course! I will see you all then" Obi-Wan let his arm fall to his side as he tried to calm the swirl of emotions that was inside of him. Fear, joy, sadness, and desperation all churning inside of him.

Anakin's body shook with tremors as electric signals flowed from the wires and into his skin. As the doctor turned different areas on and off, she would take notes at Anakin's corresponding reaction. Flailing limbs, seizures, screaming, lockjaw, tremors, and hallucinations were all recorded onto her data pad. He lifted his head slowly, his eyes following a blond hair boy walk around the room, holding a model of a ship in his hand. He stopped and looked around. As he turned to face Anakin, he vanished. The doctor replaced his vision. His gaunt face was reflected back at him through her bug-eye like googles.

"You are a very interesting specimen!" She looked down to check something on her wrist. "Maul will be here soon to inspect our… progress. Behave." She said as she stood up and walked away. She went in and out of focus, becoming three people and then one again.

"Master, please let me come with you." Ahsoka begged Master Kenobi as they walked towards the ship hangar.

"Ahsoka- "He began.

"Please." She said softly. "he's my master. I haven't heard anything at all. How am I supposed to 'remain calm during these hard times' when I don't know anything at all?" Master Kenobi sighed and then smiled. Her persistence and argumentative qualities were both things that Anakin had as well. While Ahsoka was stubborn in her own right, she learned many tricks as her apprenticeship progressed with Anakin.

"Fine." Master Kenobi said while sighing.

"Yes!" Ahsoka yelled while jumping. She cleared her throat. "I mean, thank you, Master." She said while bowing. Master Kenobi smiled.

"Let's go, it's almost 2100."

"I'm really glad that you all could be here tonight." Senator Amidala said as C-3PO brought drinks into the room for everyone. "It means a lot. I'm sure that Anakin would appreciate this."

"I agree." The Duchess said. "And we have reason to believe that he is being held on Mandalore, or at the very least, by Mandalorians."

"Why is that?" Ahsoka asked.

"More evidence came back, and the weapons that were used in the attack are Mandalorian." Master Kenobi said while stroking his beard. "But how can you be sure that they didn't just buy them from someone else?"

"Well, recently Mandalore has had an uprising. The senate is making sure that the republic doesn't hear a lot about it, since it's not directly related to the war." Senator Amidala responded.

"But," The Duchess began "The person behind the uprising is Maul." Master Kenobi sat up straighter and looked back and forth between The Duchess of Mandalore and the senator.

"You think that Maul is behind this?" Ahsoka asked

"Well, don't you also think that he has something to do with this? We thought he was dead for years; he suddenly comes back. In that same time period, he starts an uprising on a neutral planet. A famous and highly skilled Jedi Knight goes missing, and the attack was done with Mandalorian weapons." The Duchess responded wearily.

"This all happened within the past six months. There has to be some kind of connection." Senator Amidala said.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, the senate will probably think that we're crazy." Senator Amidala said while playing with one of her braids.

"And the Jedi Council won't be very found of our idea." Master Kenobi replied.

"Perhaps then" The Duchess suggested "It is better to not tell anyone at all. I am sure that Maul has spies in both the senate and the republic. If word gets out that people are suspicious of him, that could end very badly for us."

"I agree." Master Kenobi said. "It is for the best that we tell no one."


	9. Chapter 9

At some point, Anakin was thrown back into the cell that they had grabbed him from earlier. He came to this conclusion because the next time he woke up, he was laying on a cold stone floor. His whole body throbbed with pain. The room seemed to be spinning, even though he was pretty sure that he was laying on the floor, and doing his best not to move. That didn't seem to work very well, since seconds later he rolled on his side and threw up whatever food was left to throw up. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to control his breathing, and the vertigo that was threatening to make him either throw up or pass out again.

"Skywalker." Maul's voice growled from the darkness. The cell door slid open, and Anakin could hear Maul's metal legs hitting the stone floor with each step he took. They suddenly stopped, and Anakin raised his head to see Maul in all of his (former) glory.

"Get. Up" Maul snarled and grabbed the Jedi by his robes. Anakin tried his best to fight off the grip, but he wasn't even sure which direction he was facing, never mind where Maul was dragging him to. His head lolled back onto his shoulders, and he groaned in pain as Maul dragged him out of the cell.

Another set of footsteps approached the cell, only these were lighter and softer than Maul's. "Doctor, it seems that your experiments have gone… quite well it seems." Maul said while holding up a barely conscious Jedi knight.

"I'm glad that I could be of service, my lord." A female voice replied. A comm chirped on her watch.

"Doctor, it seems as though a republic ship is approaching Malachor." A male voice said. "Should we engage them?" She looked back up at Maul.

"If you leave now with Skywalker, the Jedi will never know that you were here." She whispered.

Maul nodded and picked Anakin up, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before moving quickly towards the hangar. The doctor stood and the end of the hallway, watching him go with a small smile on her face.

"Master, we are approaching Malachor, and should arrive at the surface within the next 10 minutes." Ahsoka said. The planets barren surface casted a soft light into the cabin of the ship.

"Careful, Ahsoka," The Duchess warned "If Maul is here, we cannot let him know that we are coming."

"He is still here, right?" Padme asked while turning to face Master Kenobi.

"I can sense his presence, he is close. I'm not sure how much longer it will stay that way." He muttered while stroking his beard.

"Well, at least let me do the talking- we don't want to raise any suspicion." The Duchess said.

A voice spoke over the comms, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "Identify yourselves, and the reason for entering the Malachor system." A male voice with a slight accent said.

"This is Duchess Krzye returning from a diplomatic mission." The Duchess said into the comm. A moment of tense silence filled the cabin of the small republic ship as the silence from the other side of the comm dragged out. Finally, the same voice spoke again "Welcome home Duchess, please proceed with standard landing procedures."

"Thank you." The Duchess said. Everyone in the cabin let go of a breath that they weren't fully aware they were holding, and Ahsoka steered the ship towards the landing platforms in the capital city.

"Something is wrong!" Master Kenobi said urgently.

"What is it?" Padme asked, worry laced in her voice.

"I can't sense Anakin's presence anymore." He said softly.

"Neither can I." Ahsoka said. "Master, what do we do? Is this some kind of trick, or…" Ahsoka trailed off, tears starting to form in her eyes, as she began to breathe faster out of fear.

"No Padawan, we would know if he had died. This feels different. It's almost like as if his presence has been muted. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this was due to Maul and his use of the dark side of the force."

"Can you still sense Maul?" Padme asked

"Yes, I think he is on Malachor st- "Ahsoka cut herself off. "Maul's presence is gone as well." She said softly.

"What?" The Duchess asked. "Where could they have gone? We would have noticed a ship taking off and flying away."

"Not… not necessarily." Master Kenobi said softly. Ahsoka was reaching out to him in the force, trying to find something to hold onto so that her emotions didn't overwhelm her. He was proud of her efforts, and knew that if Anakin was here, he would have bragged about her capabilities for the rest of the day. Just only when she wasn't around.

"There are several things that could have happened. If Maul is using a ship with a powerful cloaking device, we wouldn't have seen them take off and leave, and our sensors wouldn't have picked it up either. There is also the possibility that force inhibiting drugs are also at work, which I suspect is why we are having such a hard time sensing Anakin's presence."

"But why… why would Maul drug himself?" The Duchess asked.

"I don't think that he did." Master Kenobi responded. "There are legends, rumors that the sith are able to use the dark side of the force to alter their force presence."

"And you think that Maul is capable of doing this?" Padme asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me." Master Kenobi said while shrugging. "I cut him in half over 10 years ago and he survived. The dark side of the force is both powerful and deadly." He said softly.

"So how… how do we find them?" Ahsoka asked as she finished the landing procedure and the ship came to a halt.

"We'll have to ask around." The Duchess said. "I am positive that they were on Malachor at some point, or are still here. Maul has struck fear into many of my people's hearts, and has spies everywhere. Unfortunately for him, my sister and I have also set up a spy network to gain information about his whereabouts. She would have information about his movements and any sightings that may have occurred. I can contact her and arrange a meeting." The duchess leaned over to grab her comm, and began to speak to another woman.

The next time Anakin woke up, he laying on the ground. Not the stone floor from his prison cell, but this was sand, and he hated sand. He sat up slowly, and looked around. The landscape was barren, grey, and he couldn't sense any life for miles and miles. He turned his head, and behind him loomed a large, black building, the dark side of the force radiating out of it in intense waves that made him shiver, made something in him want to curl up in a ball and hide.

"Get up, Skywalker." Maul's voice barked from behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

author's notes:

will I ever update my other story? who knows. which is funny because I have like 5 other works planned, but I promised myself that I would finish these two works before starting anything else. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my story. It really means a lot to me. I'm also down to hear other people's ideas about things that I should write about, and I'm down to collaborate. hope that life is treating all of you well, and thanks again for reading.

* * *

"I've arranged a meeting with my sister for when we land." The Duchess said while checking a data pad as Ahsoka steered the ship into the port. "She knows people who have worked and currently work with Maul, and can help guide us."

"We will have to thank your sister." Padme said "What kind of things did she mention when you two spoke?"

"She was cautious not to say too much over hologram incase we were being watched, or the call was being tapped, but she did mention that Maul has some kind of base on the planet outside of the city that he operates out of. She isn't sure where it is, but she knows it exits."

"Has she heard members of Death Watch talk about it?" Master Kenobi asked.

"She has. That's why she's sure there is one."

"And if we can find it, then we can find Anakin." Ahsoka said, excitement creeping into her voice. It finally felt like they were starting to see some light at the end of this horrible nightmare.

"We cannot be too sure of that, padawan." Master Kenobi said. "Maul is masking both his and Anakin's presence. I don't want to be a pessimist, but they honestly could be anywhere."

"Well," Padme said. "There's a good chance that they're here on Mandalore, and if they aren't, I'm sure we could find some more information about their whereabouts inside the base."

"I agree." The Duchess said. "I also think that we should be careful not to mention anything in regards to Maul or the republic. Brining Jedi to a neutral planet already looks like a political statement, and we don't want to attract any more attention."

"I agree. We don't want to cause any trouble." Master Kenobi said. "Ahsoka, when we exit the ship, make sure your cloak is on and your hood is up. We want people to think that we are here as an escort for Senator Amidala, not here on a mission."

"Got it." Ahsoka said while reaching down to grab her cloak. They made their way to the door of the ship, where it opened up to reveal guards wearing traditional Mandalorian armor.

"I tried to inform as little people as possible about our arrival," The Duchess said while turning to face Padme. "No need to attract extra attention for a friend who is just visiting." She said while turning to face straight ahead.

"No need indeed." Padme said while smiling.

The stone walls were damp, the cold air filling Anakin's lungs and sinking into his stomach. The mist swirled around his feet, and if he listened closely, it seemed like it was talking to him. A harsh breeze would come, and the wind would swirl and scream and scream that sounded just like his mothers. Then there was silence.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Maul asked him as they made their way down a staircase.

"What?" Anakin said, his voice quiet against the sounds of the temple.

"The dark side." Maul said. "It isn't what you thought it would be."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Anakin retorted.

"It's easy." Maul said. "Which is why you're going to help me."

"Why would I help you?" Anakin replied in disgust.

Maul laughed. "I knew you would say that." He reached down to get something from his belt, and Anakin reached for his lightsaber- only to realize that he didn't have it on him. Maul pulled out a small holodisk and turned it on, the recording showing Satine and Padme walking through a port, followed by two people with Jedi robes that covered their faces. He was pretty sure he knew who they were though. The footage looked like it was coming from sort of body camera, given the angle and the quality of the film. Maul pressed a button and it sped up to show Satine walking with Obi-Wan down a hallway, deep in conversation.

"If you want them to live, you'll help me." Maul said with a smile on his face and a glint in his eyes. Anakin felt his stomach drop, his skin grew cold and clammy as the worry, the fear and then the anger, which transformed the cold into a raging fire in his heart, trying to take over…

But it didn't. He took a calming breath, inhaling the cool damp air from the temple and remembering Obi-Wan's words to him.

"Breathe, Padawan." He would always tell Anakin when he got worked up.

"I see you've started to listen to your master's teachings." Maul whispered to him, his voice blending in with the whispers and wails of the temple "What a shame he wasn't here to see it."

Maul continued to walk forward, the sound of his metal legs hitting the stone reminded Anakin of battle droids marching forward. "You know that I will kill them if you do not cooperate. I know their every move, and I know yours as well. You cannot escape." Maul said with an even tone.

A lighter voice whispered in his ear, giving him hope, that maybe he could over power Maul, take his weapon and make a break for it.

"I can sense your hope, Skywalker." Maul said. "But you cannot overpower me. Not with that poison running through your veins."

"Poison?" Anakin exclaimed. "What poison?" He demanded.

"Hmmmmmm, you probably were not awake enough to remember." Maul mused as he scratched his chin. You've been injected with a slow acting poison, and I'm the only one with the antidote."

The cold feeling was back again, followed by a heavy weight on his chest that made it hard to breathe, hard to see, and hard to feel.

"And that would be the poison starting to kick in." Maul said as he watched Anakin fall to his knees and grab at his chest. "From what it looks like, I'd say you only have 48 hours left to live unless you get the antidote."

"How do I know you'll give it to me?" Anakin said in between gasps for air.

"You don't" Maul sneered. "But if you behave, then we'll see."


	11. Chapter 11

Ahsoka began to wander the halls of the palace that the duchess called home. She kept her hood up and her head down to avoid attention, but she couldn't help the feeling that she was missing something, and that it was right under her nose. She had always been good at being able to sense people's emotions and feelings, and was using that skill to come to the conclusion that someone why lying. She was sure of it. The force wrapped around her body, anxious and full of warning. As she wandered the halls, people passing her were quick to avoid eye contact, and move to the other side of the hall. She was supposed to help people, and save the galaxy, but these people were afraid to look at her. Afraid to say anything.

Ahsoka turned the same corner for a fifth time, confirming that someone was following her. She didn't turn her head around- the fact that he was still following her like this probably meant that her stalker hadn't noticed that Ahsoka knew he was there. She paused- and listened. A soft male voice was speaking behind her.

"haven't found the base yet…"

"Don't think they know the location…."

"Ship factory…."

"Poison?"

"wild animals"

"…on Malachor"

She drank in every bit of information that she could gleam from the conversation, a hint, some hope, a sign that this would work out.

"Ahsoka?" A familiar voice asked. Padme was walking towards her from down the hallway, a cautious smile on her face.

"Senator," Ahsoka said in her best formal voice. "We should talk in private." She lifted her head slightly, hoping that Padme would see the urgency behind her eyes.

"Yes of course." Padme said while schooling her face into a neutral expression. "In my quarters."

Ahsoka nodded and the two of them set off down the hallway, tense silence filling the space between the two women as they sped walk down the hallway to Padme's quarters.

"R2, Check the room for bugs." Ahsoka said. The astromech beeped a confirmation out and began to scan the room.

"We're being watched, aren't we?" Padme asked.

"We are. I was being followed by one of Maul's men earlier." Ahsoka said while taking off her cloak and sitting down on the couch.

"How do you know it was Maul?" Padme asked while sitting down next to her.

"The guy that was following me was also talking to someone through some kind of communication device. I could hear parts of his conversation." She said while fidgeting with her hands.

"We know that Maul has a base somewhere around her, and that guy was talking about a base, by a ship factory, and I'm guessing there are also wild animals nearby."

"That's not all though, it is?" Padme asked her while laying a hand gently on top of Ahsoka's.

"He… he mentioned poison." Ahsoka said softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "Do you think that…?"

"Don't think like that, Ahsoka." Padme said in a stern tone while gripping her hand. "We will get Anakin back."

Ahsoka wanted to believe her, but she could sense the fear and pain that Padme was feeling. She didn't believe what she was saying anymore than Ahsoka did.

"Satine's sister is coming to visit us soon. We will be discussing the things that she knows, and you can add in everything else that you've learned. I'm sure between the two of you, we will have enough information for what our next step should be."

"You think so?" Ahsoka asked her while looking up.

"Not I think, I know." Padme said with more conviction than earlier. Although Ahsoka figured that faking confidence was part of her job, she seemed genuine here. That they would be able to do something, find their next step and eventually find Anakin.

That was the goal, at least.

Anakin walked through the temple in silence. Maul was a few paces ahead of him, the rhythmic sound of his metal legs walking putting Anakin into a trance-like state. His legs grew heavier with each step he took, and his mind slowly started to drift to the voices that filled the mist and spoke to him about their wishes, desires, failures, accomplishments, and regrets. Between the many voices was the sound of something breathing. Slow, labored, rhythmic breaths, that filled the space. Anakin tried to match his breathing to that of the cave and found that it was surprisingly easy, almost natural for him to breathe slowly.

"Keep up, Skywalker." Maul's voice snarled from somewhere in the distance. Anakin couldn't tell where exactly it came from, since his voice was mixed in with the voices from the mist and the breathing of the cave.

A hand grabbed his tunic. "I said keep up." Maul's face suddenly appeared in front of Anakin, causing him to jump.

"The lack of oxygen is starting to affect your thinking. If you want to get out of here alive you need to focus." Anakin didn't know what he was talking about, he was having no trouble breathing in the air from the temple, even though it was damp and cold. He had reached the point where he was so cold, he became numb to the dread that was trying to seep into his body. There wasn't anywhere else for it to go.

"Satine." Bo-Katan said as she paced in front of the duchess. "Maul's hideout isn't somewhere that we're just going to be able to walk into and demand information. We aren't even sure where it is yet."

"No, but we have a pretty good idea." Master Kenobi said while pointing at some features on a holomap.

"Ahsoka mentioned a ship factory and wild animals, while you mentioned seeing people that work for him heading east at odd hours of the night." He moved somethings around the map. "Here is an abandoned ship factory to the east of our current location."

"And it's located outside of the dome, which means that there very well could be wild animals hiding in the surrounding area." Satine said.

"How far are we from there?" Padme asked.

"I'd say it would take us about 20 minutes to reach that area from our current location. We would have to scan the area on foot after that to look for some kind of entrance." Bo-Katan added.

"But it's a start." Ahsoka said. "Where is Malachor?" Ahsoka asked the group, breaking up the rhythm that had been created in the room.

"Why?" Master Kenobi asked, looking confused.

"The guy that was following me was talking about it earlier." She said nonchalantly.

"You were being followed?" Master Kenobi exclaimed in alarm.

"I'm fine master." Ahsoka said and turned to face Bo-Katan who was entering the name into the royal database.

"It's a planet, with no notable life forms, about 5,000 light years away," Bo-Katan said.

"Do you think that's where they are, Master?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's quite possible that Malachor is the new location that Maul has moved both himself and Anakin. We would be able to sense if Anakin was on this planet, regardless of any force suppressants that Maul might have access to because we would be close enough to him. "

"So… are we heading there or what?" Padme asked with a smile on her face.

"Well, we can't just do that." Satine said. "Many of the people that work for Maul are still here, and I'm sure that his base has many valuable things in it."

"I agree." Bo-Katan said while looking at her sister. "I think we should split up. The Jedi will hunt down Maul, and we will stay here to hunt down his base, and try to gather as much information as we can."

Ahsoka smiled. They were finally getting somewhere. The hope filled the force and the room, giving her the strength she needed to continue.

"Then it's settled. We will take the ship to Malachor." Master Kenobi said with a slight smile on face.


	12. Chapter 12

Ahsoka paced back and forth in Padme's living quarters. She knew that she had to be patient, wait for orders, but she also couldn't help the unnerving feelings that something was seriously wrong here. She still couldn't sense her master at all. It wasn't as if he's dead, it was like as if he just vanished form the force entirely. Jedi could feel when creatures died, but with Anakin, he just vanished. Master Kenobi watched her go back and forth from the couch to the window and back to the couch again. He wanted to scold her for not managing her emotions better, but couldn't find it in himself to tell her anything that could be comforting at the moment. They sat in silence while they waited for Bo-Katan and the duchess to return with coordinates for Malachor, and any other kind of information that would be useful for them.

A door slid open, and Padme entered the room. Her hair was pulled back into a simple braid, and she had changed into civilian clothes. Ahsoka could feel her anxiety through the force, but she could also feel Padme's hope and determination as well. She stopped pacing to get a better look at the senator, and noticed that there were dark circles under her eyes, and her face looked paler than usual. Ahsoka thought it might have been the lack of makeup but she wasn't sure.

"Have Satine and Bo-Katan returned yet?" She asked while taking a seat on the couch next to Obi-Wan

"No" Master Kenobi said while sighing.

"I'm sure that they won't be much longer, Ahsoka." Padme said with a smile.

Anakin wasn't sure who was talking to him, or if anyone was even talking. He could hear someone breathing. It was slow and rhythmic, but sounded pained. Maybe it was the temple? Maybe it was himself. A cold feeling crept up on his shoulder- he turned around to see someone there, but there was no one. As he started to turn back around, a figure appeared out of the corner of his eye. It wore all black, and the hood of its cloak covered its face. He gasped- the cold air filling his lungs and making his limbs go heavy. He tried to focus on what was in front of him; someone was there, but he couldn't tell who. First it was a torguta woman, then the hooded figure, then maul. It approached him slowly, deliberately until Maul's face broke through the mist.

"Hurry up, Skywalker." He said with an urgent edge to his voice.

Anakin took another deep breath, and felt a warm, numbing sensation spread through his limbs. He looked Maul in the eyes and nodded. Anakin saw fear in his eyes and made a confused face. Why was Maul worried? It wasn't like anyone was going to find them here, wherever they were. He smiled; surely, they were safe here.

"Surly they were saved here." A woman's voice whispered from the mist. The voice seemed to wrap Anakin in a familiar hug.

"There's no need to worry, Ani." The voice said again. Anakin's eyes widened- that was his mother's voice.

"Mom?" Anakin whispered. Maul turned around in alarm. It seemed as if the poison was working faster than he though it was going to. Skywalker didn't seem to be registering the things that were going on in front of him anymore, but instead was responding to voices that weren't actually there. Maul growled in frustration and began to walk back towards Skywalker when he stopped. He wasn't sure how much of this was the poison or the dark side messing with the Jedi's head, and figured that maybe he should watch him for a little bit to find out.

The door to Padme's living quarters opened with a quiet swoosh. Satine and Bo-Katan entered the room, looking exhausted, but triumphant at the same time. In the duchess's hands were a data pad that she held close to her chest.

"We've collected as much information as we could about Malachor." Bo-Katan said while walking further into the living quarters.

"It's located deep in the outer rim, so it'll take you about 12 hours to reach there." Bo-Katan said.  
"The planet doesn't have any notable life forms at the moment, but large temples have been spotted on the surface that seem to be thousands of years old." Satine added while scrolling through her data pad.

"The atmosphere is non-toxic for humans, with a gravitational constant close to Coruscant's. The climate is desert-like, but doesn't get very hot." Satine put the data pad down.

"And that's pretty much all we could find." Bo-Katan said while looking at Ahsoka.

"Our databases just didn't have a lot of information about this place."

"Well, it's not like the republic's database would have been any better." Padme said with a sigh.

"Thank you both for helping us out. We really appreciate it." She added afterwards.

"I think that you three should leave as quickly as you can." Bo-Katan said.

"We know that Maul has people here that are watching you, and we don't want them to know that you're about to make your next move."

"I agree." Master Kenobi said while standing up. "We should get moving as quickly as possible."  
The duchess handed Padme the data pad. "You'll need this." She whispered to Padme, and then pulled her in for a hug.

"Good luck." The duchess said as she let go.

Anakin tried to look around to find the source of his mother's voice. He turned back to face towards Maul when it changed into Padme's voice. But instead of the soft and comforting nothings his mother was whispering, she was screaming in pain, begging him not to do something. Anakin looked around frantically, his heart pounding in his chest. He was trying to look for what was wrong, why she would be in such great pain when the voice shifted again. Instead he heard a different woman speaking, but was unable to recognize the voice. He could feel her anger, and her rage through the force. And it was directed at him. Her voice approached Anakin, growing louder and louder until it was quiet. All Anakin could hear was the same breathing from before. In the distance was another voice, calling out for him softly. It was deeper than the others, and it was begging him to get up, walk away, come with me. Anakin stepped back, he didn't want to go anywhere with anyone. He took another step back and fell backwards towards the ground.

Anakin sat up with a gasp. He sitting on a cold stone floor, and grey mist swirled around his feet. Infront of him was Maul, crouched next to him and looking ahead.

"You're awake." He said while looking down at Anakin.

"Open this door, Skywalker." Maul said while pointing to a black slab in the center of the wall ahead of them. Anakin reached out into the force, drawing something, but he wasn't sure what. The door opened and Maul walked ahead of him, his metal legs sounding just like a battle droid's when they hit the surface. Anakin got up and followed him into a large room. A breeze blew through the room, and sent a shiver down his spine. The floor was softly lit with lines full of power from the force. Anakin could feel the dark side of the fore swirling through the mist, flowing through the floor and centered on the podium at the center of the room.

Maul's laughter interrupted his thoughts.

"Finally." He rasped out "The holocron will be mine at last."


	13. Chapter 13

Ahsoka, quickly walked to the ship, with Master Kenobi and Padme close on her heels. As soon as the duchess and her sister provided the information that they would need, Ahsoka downloaded the data that they would need to navigate to Malachor before heading towards the ship. In the distance she could hear Master Kenobi thanking the duchess for her hospitality, and her sister as well. She could hear Padme discussing how they should plan to meet up at a future date when there were fewer pressing matters to attend to.

"Here, R2." Ahsoka said while sliding into the co-pilot seat. "Take a look at these coordinates." She said. Ahsoka bent down and grabbed a cable to connect R2 to the data pad that was given to them. As she plugged him in, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Padawan," Master Kenobi said. Ahsoka braced herself for another lecture of his, about how she was being impatient, or not considerate enough. Her shoulders tensed and her montrails twitched.

"Has R2 been given the data yet?" He asked her with a straight face. Ahsoka felt her shoulders relax, and she sighed. "Not yet, but we're working on it." Ahsoka responded. R2 beeped an affirmative back at them, before heading over to the navigational console and began to input the coordinates.

In the distance, Anakin heard an old voice laugh. Each chuckle sent a shiver down his spine, each snicker dragged him further into the cold. Anakin fell to his knees, the poison running through his veins making everything feel pleasantly numb. He looked up and saw Maul heading towards the source of the light in the room. Saw him stretch his hand out, and heard the force scream. _This is not meant for you._

He saw him try again, straining against the will of the force, and laughed. "This is not meant for you". He heard someone close by say. The voice sounded so familiar, yet so foreign… Anakin couldn't place who said it, but he had heard that voice speak before.

"What did you say, Skywalker?" Maul hissed at him; his voice full of venom. Anakin stared at Maul, his body warping and distorting with every breath he took. The voices around him from the shadows chanting a name. _Lord Vader, Lord Vader._ They surrounded him, each breath he took, the shadows filled his lungs, making him stronger. The cold, the pain, fueling him to get back up. Anakin rose, and stood to his full height. His eyes burned. His lungs burned. Each step was agony. But he was drawn to center of the room. Drawn to the source of power. Where Maul struggled, Anakin reached past him and grabbed the holocron.

"Master" Ahsoka said, her voice full of worry as she turned to face Master Kenobi.

"I know, I know" He said.

"What is it?" Padme asked tentatively.

"Something is wrong with Anakin." Master Kenobi said. He looked back at Padme. "He's still alive, but whatever is happening is… not good." He said while trailing off and looking out into hyperspace. Ahsoka shifted in her seat- it was just a feeling, but something told her that they were running out of time.

"Master, maybe I can reach out to him through the force?" Ahsoka said. Master Kenobi looked at her. He saw the eyes of a scared teenage girl, but also the determination and resolve of a seasoned warrior. She got up from the co-pilot seat, and sat behind Master Kenobi. Padme took over navigational control, and Ahsoka closed her eyes.

"Do what you think is best, Ahsoka." Master Kenobi said. She closed her eyes and focused on the bond that they shared. Focused on his muddled, distorted, life force. _Breathe in, and then let go._

A bright flash of light illuminated the chamber. Anakin didn't shield his eyes. When the light died down, he found himself back in the halls of the jedi temple. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, but the scent that hit his nose was full of death and despair. Burning flesh and a waste of life. His confusion quickly turned to horror as he looked around and saw bodies littering the hallways. Jedi of all ages were slaughtered like animals. Bodies full of blaster marks filled the great hallways. He heard shouting coming from behind him and turned around. There, in the distance were clone troopers. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the markings on their armor and then he realized, that these troops were from the 501st. His battalion of troopers. Anakin moved in a trancelike state past the ruined artwork and slaughtered jedi. The trooper's voices faded down the hall as the moved on, pursing whatever target they had been assigned to. He paused. Who was assigning them to be here in the temple?

Ahsoka sat up with a gasp. Padme jumped and turned around. "Are you alright Ahsoka?" She asked. "What happened?" Master Kenobi said softly. She tried to speak but no words would come to her mouth. All she could feel was the fear, the rage, the anger. But she didn't know why. She couldn't remember what she had seen.

"I-"she began before blinking tears out of her eyes and clearing her throat. "I'm not sure." She whispered.

"I'm not sure what I saw." She repeated while looking up at Master Kenobi. He and Padme exchanged a look.

"How are you feeling?" Padme asked her while placing a hand on her shoulder. "Ahsoka, you're shaking." She said, her voice full of concern.

"Scared." Ahsoka said. "I'm scared. I don't know what I saw, but it was bad. Really bad."

"We're going as fast as we can." Padme said. "He can make it through, whatever it is." She set her jaw. "He can do it."


	14. Chapter 14

Ahsoka tried her best to calm herself down. She turned to look at Master Kenobi, whose face was partially hidden in a shadow from the hyperspace light. Turning to look at Padme, whose jaw was set and face looked determined, she tried to mimic that same kind of confidence and hope that they would find Anakin and that everything would be alright. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't ignore the fact that something felt… deeply wrong. Ahsoka leaned back into her seat, thinking about what to do. Closing her eyes, she began to practice her deep breathing and centering herself in the force.  
Ahsoka opened her eyes, but she wasn't on the ship anymore. Surrounded by fine white mist, she heard a voice whispering for her. Calling her. Frantically turning, Ahsoka saw a door frame ahead of her. Red light beamed from the frame, and lit up a path for her to follow. Ahsoka took a deep breath and began to walk towards the frame. The voice grew louder with each step she took, its sense of urgency increasing as she advanced through the doorway. Ahsoka burst through the doorway and saw nothing.  
Then a set of white lightsaber blades ignited.  
The red saber clashed down against the white. Anakin stood by the holocron's pedestal, watching as a sith lord dueled with a torgruta jedi. As Anakin watched, he noticed that something seemed very familiar about both of the fighting styles that were being used. The labored breathing from earlier was louder now, clearer. He realized that it was coming from the sith lord. Anakin could hardly believe his eyes; the amount of power behind the red saber was incredible. With each hit, he could see the torgruta jedi's strength start to fade. The sith's expression remained hidden by the mask they were wearing.  
"Revenge is not the jedi way." A deep voice said.  
"I am no jedi." The torgruta woman responded and held up her sabers.  
A strong swing swung the woman over the ledge of… where ever she was. Ahsoka watched as the white blades faded in the darkness beyond the ledge. Ahsoka took another look around the large room that she was in. Standing in the center, she saw it. A figure wearing all black, that the mist swirled around his feet. The dark side of the force rolled off of it, washing over her body, filling her with dread. Ahsoka could hear a voice calling her, but she wasn't sure if it was a person or a droid. The creature advanced towards her, the darkness beginning to consume her when a flash of light exploded from the creature's face.

Anakin watched the woman roll and land on her feet. The sith lord stumbled back, clutching the side of its face. He heard two voices speaking louder than the rest, but he couldn't make out most of the conversation.  
"I won't leave you!" The woman said, her voice full of emotion.  
"Then you will die." A male voice responded. The sith lord ignited his lightsaber and swung down. Her blades came up to meet the blow and then Ahsoka was back on the ship, Master Kenobi was staring at her, his face full of worry.  
"Ahsoka." He said firmly. "What happened?" She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her body and mind felt like as if they had just come from a battlefield. Wired and ready to launch an attack, but there was no enemy here. Just Master Kenobi and Padme.  
"I don't know." She whispered. "I don't know." She repeated while shaking her head. "But I think that Anakin is in some serious trouble if we don't find him soon." She saw Padme's shoulders tense up.  
"We can do this, Ahsoka, don't loose hope in Anakin now."

All Anakin heard was the screaming. All he felt was the rage, the suffering, the anger. He looked around and saw that he was no longer in the sith temple, but was not in some kind of medical facility. On the table was a man, who had been injured beyond recognition. He shrieked in pain as the medical droids attended to him. Fitting the stubs of his limbs with new prosthetics, the man tried to swat away the droids but his arm fell limp as he fell unconscious. Even unconscious, Anakin could feel the dark side swirling around him. He could feel the hate and the anger through the force. The cold from the dark side filled the air in the room. With each breath he took, he could feel his body beginning to grow colder and colder. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn't just the work of the dark side, but he couldn't think of anything else that could have done this. The droids continued to bring over more and more supplies, encasing the man in a set of black armor. As they continued their work, Anakin noticed that the man on the table was starting to look like the sith from earlier.  
"Lord Vader." A voice spoke.  
"Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?" Lord Vader asked. Lord Vader… where had he heard that before? And why was this person asking about Padme?  
"Lord Vader, Lord Vader" The mist around his feet whispered as it curled around his body. Anakin looked down to see that his body was slowly being encompassed by the mist. It filled his lungs and slowly dragged him down. Further and further until-  
"It seems like you don't have much time left." Maul said. Anakin tried to look up, but his vision was full of dark spots. He heard Maul's legs move as he bent down, and grabbed the holocron out of his hands.  
"And thank you, for this." Maul sneered while standing back up. "I don't know what kind of trick you had up your sleeve, but it would appear that you are not the jedi that the republic makes you sound like you are." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Interesting how a jedi knight was able to harness the dark side in such a way. Too bad that you won't live long enough for us to figure out how you did that." Maul said with an edge to his voice.

"Pulling out of hyperspace" Padme said. She pressed a few buttons on the console, and the blue light from hyperspace faded into the stars scattered throughout the galaxy. In front of them was a grey planet.  
"We've made it." Padme said while turning to face Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. "Welcome to Malachor"


	15. Chapter 15

The cruiser touched down on the desolate surface of the planet, blowing grey sand and dust up into the air. Ahsoka felt wired- with all of the things she had just seen, she wanted nothing more than to just be able to put all of this behind her. While touching down, Ahsoka looked out at the surface of the planet. A scared surface, devoid of all life is what looked back at her. Padme had guided the ship towards the only structure that they could see around them; a black building, with no visible entrance. However, there was another ship located there. Assuming it was Maul's, she guided the ship down close by. Now, the three of them sat in the cockpit, feeling the hope that they had felt earlier being sucked away by something.  
"The dark side of the force is strong here." Master Kenobi said while stroking his beard. "I'm sure that has something to do with why Maul brought Anakin here."  
"But what could he want?" Padme asked, "And how do we rescue Anakin?" She said with an urgent tone.  
"I can sense him better now", Ahsoka began while twisting her hands together. "So, he must be inside that building ahead of us."  
"But something is still off." Master Kenobi replied while making eye contact with her. "I think it would be wise that we moved quickly." He added on while getting up from his seat. Padme also rose from her seat and began making her way towards the exit.  
"Stay on the ship, Artoo" Ahsoka said as she followed them.

Maul took a deep breath in, and exhaled slowly. A frown began to form as he sensed the presence of The Negotiator. Looking back down at Skywalker, he cursed. The young knight was now rendered basically useless from the combination of the poison, and the holocron overpowering him. Maul kicked him in the side, looking for any kind of reaction. Anakin's body rolled over slightly, but showed no signs of being conscious. Through the force, he could sense that Skywalker didn't have much time left.  
"But that doesn't matter." He whispered to himself. He was to be used as bait- to draw Kenobi out here so that he could finish him off. Maul's grip around the holocron grew tighter, the device humming with power as it fed off of his anger and hatred. The humming grew stronger, taking over the room, and drawing the mist over to Maul. It surrounded him- drew him further down into the dark side. He cried out as the mist began to swirl around his legs and his body. As it slowly crept up towards his heart, the temple faded out of view, but Kenobi's presence was still there.  
Maul was back on Naboo, where he had cut down Kenobi's master, and where in return, Kenobi had left him to die. The voices from the mist encouraged the anger, feeding his fire like dried wood. The anger made his senses sharp; here in this vision he could sense the young Kenobi about to charge at him, and back on Malachor, he could sense Kenobi making his way through the temple with the young torgruta girl, and the senator. He growled, and yelled; releasing the rage that he was full of. The vision vanished, leaving him back in the temple with a dying jedi at his feet, and two more on the way that would meet the same fate.

"Why is the temple built like this?" Ahsoka asked while she used the force to lift open a door.  
"Because of the rule of two." Master Kenobi said while lifting up another door.  
"Rule of two?" Padme questioned as she looked around the dark and damp corridors.  
"Unlike the jedi, there are only two sith; a master and an apprentice. The master has the power, and the apprentice craves it."  
"So, Dooku would be the master and Ventress would be the apprentice?" Padme asked.  
"Not exactly. Ventress is an assassin, Dooku is the apprentice. We don't know who the master is. But whoever he is, he is powerful." Master Kenobi replied. Padme nodded her head- not that anyone could really tell with how dark it was in the corridors. She had lost track of time as they continued to wander through the corridors- they all looked the same, and all that Padme could really gather is that they were slowly descending. As they progressed further through the temple, she could feel the weight on her chest growing heavier and heavier with each step that they took.  
"It makes sense though." She said. "That also probably has something to do with why Maul took Anakin. He needed another person with him to get through… wherever we are." She said.  
"You're probably right." Master Kenobi responded, "But I don't think he did it willingly either." He added on softly.  
"Master Skywalker would never agree to work with someone like Maul unless he was being blackmailed into it." Ahsoka added in while thinking. She knew her master well enough to know that there was no way he would have done it, unless he was being threated with something serious. She shuddered at the thought, and tried to concentrate on opening the next door.  
"That is too heavy for you to lift alone, Ahsoka." Master Kenobi said while coming to help her. "This place was designed so that you would not be able to get through it on your own."


	16. Chapter 16

"Hm, I can sense then." Maul whispered as he bent over to look at Anakin's body.

"They're here for you, Skywalker." Anakin remained motionless on the ground, the sound of his labored breathing mixing in with the voices of the dark side. Maul sighed and considered his options; he could leave the Jedi and try to escape on his own, but he wouldn't be able to make it through the temple without a second person helping him. He could stay and wait for Obi-Wan to arrive, then they could fight. A grin slowly crept across his features. He would wait for Obi-Wan to arrive, and then he would kill The Hero with No Fear right in front of them.

Maul chuckled to himself as he stood back up to his full height. He knew that killing Skywalker would be the best way to get revenge. He was no fool- and had planned ahead back on Mandalore for this kind of situation. He would preserve. He always did.

The dark side of the force helped clear his mind with each breath he took. Each inhale fueled his rage, and each exhale sharpened his senses. The mist in the room whispered to him, repeating the same name over and over again. _Kenobi, Kenobi,_ the dark side of the force called.

"Yes." He whispered, "I will have my revenge."

Obi-Wan stopped walking and stared. Each heartbeat echoed in his head, but it did not cover up the voice whispering his name. Mist was pouring from the path ahead, and they had continued to follow it as it swirled around their feet and legs. He could feel the cold, the anger, the pain of the dark side of the force trying to wrap itself like a parasite around his leg. He remembered the lessons he had learned as a padawan, about how the dark side of the force consumed and destroyed everything in its path. That was why the Jedi swore to protect the galaxy from the dark side. That was why they had to stop the sith. That was why he had to find Maul. As he thought about Maul, the whispering grew louder, the grip grew stronger, and he felt himself slipping to the anger, the rage. The whisper warped itself into his master's voice, speaking to him, and then into Maul's snarl. The mist continued to climb up his leg as his heart began to fill with anger.

"Master" Ashoka said, shaking him out of his trance. "Why have you stopped?" She asked.

He turned around, and saw worry etched onto both her and Padme's face. He felt the tension in his shoulders give out and the grip of the cold loosen as he looked at the two of them.

"I could hear someone whispering my name." Obi-Wan said as he exhaled shakily. He looked down at his feet and saw the mist swirling around his leg. The movement reminded him of a pet, or even a child, that had just been reprimanded for its actions and was sulking around.

"This place is strong with the dark side." Obi-Wan whispered. "I can feel it trying to seep its way into us." He began to slowly continue to walk forward, Ahsoka and Padme following hesitantly behind.

Maul turned around and looked at the holocron. It gleamed and glowed, its light teasing him with knowledge that it refused to give. A scowl formed on his face. Why did the holocron seek out Skywalker instead of himself? He had been the former apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy, and yet the holocron sought after that pathetic excuse for a Jedi. So much so that it wouldn't even let him touch the holocron- even now that Skywalker was almost dead, the holocron still refused Maul's touch. He tried to recall his teaching from Sidious- his former master never mentioned anything about a sith holocron resisting the touch of a force user. He knew that you had to be a force user to be able to open up a holocron, but after that… he wasn't sure.

As Maul slowly paced around Skywalker's unconscious body, his thoughts wrapping themselves around his mind like the mist around his legs, he stopped.

The whispering voices had stopped. The atrium was quiet.

A loud, groaning sound came from deep within the walls of the temple. Maul looked around to find the source of the noise, fear snaking its way to his heart. The entrance from earlier slowly opened up. His voice filled the room, followed by that damn brat that followed them around… and the senator of Naboo as well.

Maul ignited his lightsaber.


	17. Chapter 17

Anakin felt the presence in the room shift. His body was too weak to respond, and he wanted to do nothing more than cry out that he was here, and he could hear them, feel their presence in the force.

"What did you do him?" Obi-Wan whispered, his voice full of malice. Maul laughed, and tilted his head to the side.

"Kenobi." Maul began, a cheerless smile crawling across his features. "While the Jedi renounce revenge, I embrace it!" He spat out "You took everything from me." He added on in a hushed voice "So isn't it fair that I get to do the same?" Maul asked while kicking Anakin's lifeless body.

"Don't!" Obi-Wan said while reaching out for his former padawan. The lack of light from the room caused the shadows on Anakin's face to stand out more prominently- like as if he was knocking in death's door.

"A shame." Maul said while looking down at the body. "You don't have much time left."

Obi-Wan lunged for Maul, his saber in hand as he felt years of rage fill his body, and begin to dictate his moves. Their blades were locked in an intense fight- good versus evil. Light versus dark. His breathing became unhinged, the mist from the temple clearing its way with each step he took and with each swing he swung.

Maul stood his ground around Anakin's body, his eyes narrowed as he analyzed and countered Kenobi's attacks. His eyes widened as a green blade appeared suddenly on his left side, and quickly leapt away.

"I see you brought Skywalker's brat here with you too." Maul growled. He looked past Obi-Wan's shoulder "And the senator as well."

"I'm no brat." Ahsoka snapped. She charged ahead, getting ready to swing at Maul with her sabers.

"Ahsoka, no!" Obi-Wan called out. She gasped in pain as Maul kicked her in the ribs, propelling her into the pedestal that held the holocron. The impact from the force shook the holocron out of its holder. It fell down and landed by Ahsoka's feet. Maul approached her, his blade held high in the air, ready to deliver a final blow when the holocron suddenly opened, its light blocking his view of her.

Ahsoka shielded her eyes form the blinding light of the holocron. When she brought her arms back down, everyone was gone.

"Master Kenobi?" "Padme?" Ahsoka called out, worry beginning to fill her voice. In the distance, should could hear the sound of someone breathing through a respirator. It sounded similar to the breathing that she had heard earlier while wandering through the temple, but this time it was louder. And approaching her.

It emerged out of the shadows. A creature, no a machine. The force grew cold in the room. Before when she was with Master Kenobi and Skywalker, the force had been loud, and full of life. Now it felt like each breath filled her lungs with eyes and her heart with hopelessness. It slowly approached her, its rhythmic breathing filling the room. The mist swirled around its legs. A red blade was ignited in the creature's hand and Ahsoka got ready to ignite her own and defend herself when a flash of white light stopped her.

The creature recoiled back and howled, clutching its mask. A Jedi landed on the ground, not too far away. A torgruta woman quickly got to her feet, holding two white lightsabers in the same reverse grip that Ahsoka used. Ahsoka saw her lips moving, but the sound was muffled, like as if she was hearing it underwater. She strained to hear better, when she heard Anakin's name being called by the woman. Ahsoka looked back at the masked creature and her eyes met those of a sith lord. The eye that looked back at her was a sickly yellow, a window to the soul that had been corrupted by the darkside.

"I won't leave you." The Jedi said. "Not this time."

There was a pause. The damaged respirator sounded like as if it was struggling to work.

"Then you will die." Master Skywalker said.

"Ahsoka!" Master Kenobi shouted from behind her. She turned and saw a red blade descending towards her. Ahsoka ignited her blades, the green light clashing with the red. Then she heard that signature snarl.

Maul pressed against her blade, the dark side of the force clearing his mind and allowing him to focus on his target. Ahsoka grinded her teeth as she put all of her effort into holding him back. A blue blade quickly swung at Maul, causing him to leap back from them. When Maul landed on his feet, the temple groaned and shuttered, the walls and ceiling shifting around them. Pieces of the temple began crashing down around them. Ahsoka rolled out of the way and quickly stood up next to Master Kenobi. Behind her, Padme was crouched down over Anakin's body, checking for a pulse.

"We have to leave, now." Padme shouted; her voice frantic. "Anakin doesn't have much time left unless we get help."

Maul's humorous laugh echoed around the collapsing walls. "You probably don't have time for that, my lady." Obi-Wan swung his blade, again and again at Maul, forcing him on the defensive. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she watched him attempt to strike Maul again and again. Pieces of the temple continued to rain down on them as Obi-Wan and Maul dueled. Obi-Wan landed a kick on Maul's chest, sending him flying backward into the shadows of the temple. Before Obi-Wan could advance however, a large part of the ceiling fell down, blocking his path.

"Master!" Ahsoka called. "We need to leave!" She exclaimed while trying to help Padme pick Anakin up. He turned around, his blue blade casting a dark shadow across his face and ran over to help them.

Anakin's head lolled lifelessly in their arms, his feet dragged on the floor, his breathing was ragged and his body shuddered with the strain of whatever Maul had done. They quickly made their way out of the atrium that they were in, the light from the holocron fading with each step they took.


	18. Chapter 18

"Kenobi!" Maul snarled as Obi-Wan ran towards Padme and Ahsoka. He turned around just in time to block a decisive blow towards his head. Obi-Wan grit his teeth and pressed hard against Maul's advances. He could hear Padme yelling in the background. But he couldn't dwell on that now. Fighting Maul here was requiring all of his concentration. Maul narrowed his yellow eyes and grinned.

"I can feel your anger, your hate." He whispered. "But you don't use them." He added on as an afterthought. Obi-Wan tried to center himself in the force- feel the soothing pulse of the light side. But he felt only little pieces here and there, surrounded by the darkness of the temple they were in. He rolled to the side, swinging his blade upward, then downward and across. Maul widened his eyes at the flurry of attacks, the ferocity behind each swing. Obi-Wan's hair fell into his face as he continued advancing on Maul, pushing the enemy back with each swing. The mist curled around his legs, slowly making its way up his body, feeding off of his anger, his hatred. A final blow caused Maul to be thrown across the temple, into the shadows of the structure.

"Master!" Ahsoka shouted, her voice desperate. He looked at her. Her eyes were full of fear, and she held Anakin's body in her lap. He could feel Anakin's presence in the force, but something was wrong. Anakin burned bright like a star in the force, full of intense power and emotion. Now, he felt like a remnant of what he once was. Obi-Wan ran over and helped pick Anakin up with Padme.

"He doesn't have much time" Padme shouted over the temple's collapse. They began to run, and Ahsoka called for R2 to bring the ship around. All around them, the temple was collapsing under an unseen weight. Obi-Wan and Padme ran as fast as they could while holding Anakin up between them, and Ahsoka moved all the rubble that she could out of the way. In her heart, Padme knew that they would see Maul again. She wasn't force sensitive, but she knew that he would hunt them down, and they would have to be ready.

In the distance they could see the ship they had come in, with R2 in the cockpit. They just had a few more meters to go, and then they would be able to get a better idea on how to treat Anakin.

"KENOBI!" Maul screamed. They stopped running and Obi-Wan shifted the rest of Anakin's weight onto Padme who grunted under the strain. Ahsoka turned around and ran towards Padme, helping her carry Anakin and they ran towards the ship. Maul ran towards them, furry in his eyes as he swung his saber towards Obi-Wan. He blocked the blow, aware of the fact that he was out of time if he wanted to make it off of this planet in time to save Anakin.

Now that he was out of the temple, he could feel the light side of the force better. Although that didn't stop the female voice whispering at him, telling him to jump for the ship. In the background, he could hear the engine's revving as the ship got ready to take off. He could hear the landing gear begin to fold back into the ship, and he knew what he had to do.

Obi-Wan dodged a strike from Maul, deactivated his lightsaber and ran. He ran towards the ship and pushed off of the ground as hard as he could. He felt something else push him forward, and he landed on the ramp just as it was about to close. Out of the window of the ship, he could see a hooded figure in white behind Maul, but then the wind blew and they were gone.

His former Padawan lay on the cot in the ships small medical bay. His skin was pale, his face was gaunt, his breathing was shallow. He looked at Padme and Ahsoka. The senator bit her lip in worry, and Ahsoka reached over and grabbed her master's hand. The medical droid came over, scanned his body and took his vitals.

"We should head back to help R2 pilot the ship." Obi-Wan said. "We have to get Anakin back to Coruscant and to the halls of healing as soon as possible." None of them moved. Obi-Wan ran a hand over his face and began to walk out of the medical bay, back to the cockpit. He sat down, and questioned how his life had gotten to this point. His heart ached at the though of what Maul had done to him, and if Anakin would ever be the same.

"R2, put in the coordinates for Coruscant." His empty voice told the droid. Obi-Wan sat back in his seat as he watched the light of the stars blur together as they entered hyperspace. The sight reminded him a lesson he learned when he was a padawan. When stars die, they give off their outer layers as they continue to burn through their fuel, trying to delay the inevitable. Eventually all that's left is a remnant of what once lit up an entire solar system. He remembered telling Anakin that fact when he was still young, and watched as his face fell when he had told him that all good things come to an end. What was he going to tell Anakin? They still hadn't talked to each other since the… incident. Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was a bad liar- keeping him in the dark about what he was going to do was essential to making sure that his staged death looked as real as possible. Now he wasn't so sure if that was the best idea. He could feel Anakin in the force- their bond always in the back of his mind. But it felt different. It felt wrong.

"Master." Ahsoka said while sitting down in the co-pilot chair. "The medical droid has finished its report, and it's bad." She whispered, her voice shaking.


	19. Chapter 19

Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading! Currently, I only planned for this story to be 20 chapters long, and we are on chapter 19. However, I have realized, and this will depend on your feedback, that I should strongly consider continuing the story. Either by writing a sequel, or I could keep adding chapters onto this story. Leave a review with what you think I should do! I hope that you are all staying safe, healthy, and practicing social distancing and/or self-quarantining. _

Ahsoka looked away from Master Kenobi and down at her lap. She knew that he could feel it as well; the absence of the intensity of her master's presence in the force.

"Ahsoka," He called out to her gently. She took a deep breath.

"He has blood poisoning. The med-droid took a sample of his blood to determine what was going on, and from what Senator Amidala and I were able to figure out, it slowly shuts down his lungs and heart… along with everything else until…" She stopped talking and looked up at the stars passing by them in hyperspace.

"That's not all, is it?" Master Kenobi asked her.

"No." Ahsoka replied while trying to hold back tears. "We're pretty sure that… whatever Maul injected Master Skywalker with also was a force inhibitor." She turned to look at him, confusion and fear in her eyes.

"Master, do you know anything about them?" She asked him softly.

"Not that much," He replied while stroking his beard. "Although I do know that they have been used by the sith and other darkside users before, I haven't seen one used in person, until now." There was a heavy pause between the two of them, until Master Kenobi spoke up.

"How are his vitals?" He asked her.

"Bad." Ahsoka responded. "His breathing is shallow, his blood pressure is too high, his body temperature is too high, his heart rate is too high…. It's not good, Master. The med-droid estimates that if we don't get some kind of antidote within the next 24 hours, he…" Ahsoka paused, covering her eyes with her hands.

"He won't make it." She whispered.

"He'll make it." Master Kenobi responded quickly, unable to stomach the thought of having to continue the war without Anakin. He couldn't lose Anakin, not after everything that they had been through, and especially not to Maul. "I know he will." He said through gritted teeth.

"R2, how far away are we from Coruscant?" Ahsoka asked the astromech. He beeped in binary and she looked over at Master Kenobi.

"We still have six hours left until we arrive." She said while crossing her arms

"He will make it, Ahsoka." Master Kenobi reiterated.

"I know." She replied, her voice hollow.

"Lord Vader," A voice called out to him. Anakin looked around and reached for his light saber, and realized with a start that it was gone. He looked back up and found himself in the chancellor's office. Only something felt very, very wrong.

"Your excellency?" Anakin called out to the empty room. He walked around slowly, looking for any signs of a struggle. As he made his way over to the front door, dread filled his stomach as he looked at several suspicious lumps laying on the ground. Anakin quickly made his way over to them.

"No, no no no." He whispered to himself as he recognized the jedi robes. Anakin turned the body over, and was staring at the face of a dead Master Fisto.

"No!" Anakin yelled as he looked around and saw the bodies of other jedi masters

"Who could have done something like this?" He whispered in horror. Anakin looked around the room, noticing that the large windows behind the chancellor's desk had been broken, and there was a breeze blowing in from the outside. He approached the window slowly, his senses heightened by the force, which was currently yelling at him to get out of there and run as far away as possible. Anakin continued to approach the broken window, when he heard a strangled groan coming from the ledge. He quickly made his way over to the window, and recoiled in disgust at what he saw.

Before him lay Chancellor Palpatine, his face so disfigured that it was hardly recognizable. A lightsaber was on the ground next to him. The force screamed at him to back away, and Anakin paused. Why would the chancellor have a lightsaber? He isn't force sensitive! Anakin bent over and picked up the saber. He could feel the dark side of the force radiating out of the crystal, and permeating the rest of the room. Anakin had never seen a saber hilt like this before. It had a simple and elegant design, and was made out of some of the most precious metals in the galaxy. Anakin ignited the lightsaber, its red blade illuminating his face. He looked back down at the chancellor; whose eyes were now open. They were a sickly yellow, the same color of Maul's eyes. The chancellor looked at Anakin, his face still. Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Chancellor Palpatine smiled.

"Obi-Wan!" Padme yelled as Master Kenobi ran into the medical bay. Sensing that something was deeply wrong with his former padawan, he and Ahsoka left R2 in charge of the ship, and quickly ran back to the medical bay. He could hear the monitors alarms going off, and hoped that the worse hadn't happened yet. There, he saw Padme with the med-droid, hovering over Anakin's body.

"His heart has stopped." Padme said while looking at the two of them, her voice full of fear.


	20. Chapter 20

Hello I forgot to mention in this AU that Padme and Anakin are NOT married. That doesn't mean they aren't romantically involved though, or that they don't have feelings for each other. I wanted to explore more of their relationship as friends, lovers, and with their duties to the republic. Though they might get married in the future... you'll just have to keep reading to find out.

* * *

"How much longer until we make it back to Coruscant?" Padme asked while she wiped the sweat off of Anakin's forehead. As they rode through hyperspace, his condition continued to get worse and worse, and now she knew that he really might not make it out of this.

"Another hour." Ahsoka replied, not looking away from Anakin's pale face. Padme wasn't a jedi, but she had a pretty good sense of intuition and knew that something was very, very wrong. She had been on several missions with Anakin, had seen him injured before, but never like this. Anakin was always full of energy, always on the move. As she watched him lay here like this, she couldn't help but wonder what happened to the little boy that she had met all of those years ago. While she thought that he was cute and endearing back then, she now realized that she was deeply attracted to him. Not only for his looks, and the way his bright blue eyes lit up when he smiled, but for how selfless he was. Although he wasn't a boy anymore, Anakin was selfless, and always willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Padme sighed. She knew, in her mind that a romantic relationship with Anakin could destroy them, and everything they swore to protect. But she couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach when she thought about how they had almost kissed on Geonosis, or even just the way he called her name. Padme looked over at Ahsoka, whose very presence reminded Padme why she had to fight so hard in the senate. Ahsoka was a talented warrior, and wise beyond her years. But she was also a 15-year-old girl who had been thrown into the war, and now had to watch the closest thing she had to family be torn apart over it. She frowned- Obi-Wan should be in here with them, not in the cockpit. The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. Obi-Wan was the closest thing that Anakin had to a father, and instead of being here at his bedside, he was worrying about flying the ship. A man who doesn't like flying was worrying about flying. She rolled her eyes, took one last look at Anakin, and then made her way to the cockpit.

"What are you doing?" She said as she sat down next to him in the co-polit seat. The lighting from the hyperspace lanes accented the shadows and lines of his face- making him look far older than he actually was.

"What do you mean 'What am I doing?'" He asked her in response.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with Anakin?" She pressed. Obi-Wan was quiet, and stroked his bear slowly for a few moments before responding.

"Because he wouldn't want me to be there." He whispered.

"Obi-Wan, that ridiculous." She replied. Padme reached out and gently laid her hand on top of his "Anakin cares very deeply about you. What's going on?"

"You were at my funeral, were you not?" He asked her while turning to face her. She nodded.

"And you saw Anakin's reaction to my death?" He continued. Padme broke eye contact and looked down at the ground. She had seen his reaction, she remembered trying to calm him down afterward. She also remembered trying to calm him down once they found that he wasn't actually dead. She couldn't help the surge of annoyance and anger.

"Why didn't you tell him?" She asked him softly, her voice full of rage.

"His reaction was essential- it's what made everyone believe that I was actually dead."

"But at what cost?" She exclaimed. "Obi-Wan, you weren't there to see what happened to him, to Ahsoka, after you did that. You didn't see the grief, and the pain on their faces. You didn't see the amount of pressure the council put on him, to get back up and go back to the war."

"I know, Padme. Believe me, I know." He said, his voice full of sorrow. Suddenly, Obi-Wan looked up and turned around.

"What is it?"

"It's Anakin, something is wrong." He said as he got out of his seat and ran towards the medical bay. Padme followed, as a cold fear began to settle in her stomach. As they approached the medical bay, she could hear the alarms from the equipment going off. The door slid open and she saw Ahsoka bent over Anakin's body, her head on his chest.

"Master, he's not breathing, I don't know what to do." She yelled with tears in her eyes. Obi-Wan moved past her and grabbed his left wrist and removed his glove.

"He still has a pulse; we have to move quickly." He said. Padme felt as though someone else was controlling her body, like as if she was a separatist droid. She walked up to Anakin's head, and tilted it so that it faced her. She opened his mouth, and began to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation.

"Come on Ani, breathe." She muttered in between breaths. After what felt like an eternity, Anakin gasped loudly, his body arching upward so that his lungs could fill with air. She stepped back and stared at his face. The medical droid moved past her and replaced the oxygen mask that had been ripped off in the frenzy.

She refused to count that as a kiss.

The ship jerked forward as it came out of hyperspace. No one moved.

"We have to start the landing procedure." Obi-Wan said, and backed out of the room. Ahsoka continued to stand next to Padme, her entire body rigid, her shoulders shaking.

"Ahsoka," Padme said as she laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face Padme, and saw the tears streaming down her face.

"I can't… I can't lose him." She whispered. "Not like this." Her commlink beeped.

"Ahoksa, I need your help up here." Obi-Wan's voice said through the speaker.

"I should go." She said while turning to look back at Anakin. The two of them walked back to the cockpit in silence, and Ahsoka slid into the co-pilot seat.

"The healers at the temple have been informed of Anakin's condition, and will be waiting for us in the hangar at the temple." Master Kenobi said as they began to descend into Coruscant's atmosphere. The temple was easy to spot, and they raced towards the hangar.

After that, everything was a blur. Obi-Wan landed the ship while her and Ahsoka raced back to the medical bay to grab Anakin. The healers from the temple were waiting for them at the edge of the ramp, and quickly moved to grab his limp body from their arms and place him on a stretcher. Master Windu quickly ran over to them, his brown robes flowing behind him.

"Obi-Wan, Padawan Tano, Senator." He greeted. "It is good to have you back. The council requests your presence, and the chancellor would like to speak to you, senator Amidala." He continued; his tone serious.

"It was Maul." Obi-Wan said with a monotone voice. Master Windu looked at the three of them, making eye contact with each one of them. "We will discuss this in the council chambers." He replied, his tone indicating that he was done with the subject for now. "Senator," He said while bowing before turning around and leaving.

The three of them stood there, the hangar buzzing with life, and the busy skyline of Coruscant behind them. Yet all Padme could focus on was the memory of Anakin's lifeless body being taken away by the healers. A commlink beeped, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Kenobi." Obi-Wan said.

"Informed of your arrival, I have been. Request your presence and Padawan Tano's, at once, we do." She hear Master Yoda say. Obi-Wan looked at Ahsoka.

"Let's not keep them waiting." He said. Obi-Wan turned back around to face Padme "We'll let you know if we hear anything about Anakin." He said, and turned around to walk towards the halls of the temple. Ahsoka paused for a moment, before following him. She turned around to wave at Padme before they disappeared behind a set of doors.

And then she was all alone.


	21. Chapter 21

It was quiet. Anakin held his breath, waiting for the moment that Maul or the doctor would come into the room drag him out and inject him with force knows what. He could feel several needles in his arm along with monitors taped to his chest. He slowly relaxed when he realized several things. First, while he was still cold, the surface underneath him was warm and soft, as if he were in a bed. Second, his whole body _hurt._ He had gotten beaten up and taken captive more times then he would have preferred, but he had never been injured this badly before. He tried going through a mental checklist to make sure he could still wiggle his toes and that noting was broken, but the thought of moving just made everything hurt even more. He couldn't even identify the source of the pain. Third, someone was holding his hand.

Who was holding his hand?

Anakin tentatively reached out into the force, and his heart filled with relief when he realized that the person next to him was Ahsoka. Ahsoka… who had been there at the diner with him when they were attacked, and Maul had taken him. Who had screamed his name out as he was being dragged away and drugged. He wanted to open his eyes, sit up, and ask her if she was alright, if she made it out okay. He tried to muster up the energy to say something, anything, but found that the words died in his throat and all he could do was force his eyes open.

The room was dimly lit. Anakin blinked several times, trying to get his eyes to focus. He could see the nighttime sky of Coruscant in front of him, and the plain white walls and ceiling of the halls of healing. He felt Ahsoka shift her weight on the mattress and looked down at his side to see her turn her head slightly. Her hand rested on top of his, her fingers relaxed and uncurled as she slept. Anakin started at her hand for a moment before curling his fingers around hers.

"Ahsoka" He whispered, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. Her lekku twitched and quickly sat up, her eyes wide and huge smile forming across her face.

"Master!" She exclaimed as she leaned over to hug him. Anakin smiled, and tried to raise his arms to hug her back, but she had trapped his arms under her, and he didn't have the strength to try and raise them anyway. Ahsoka sat back down in the chair at his bedside and took a deep breath.

"What happened?" He rasped and then winced at how bad his voice sounded again. Ahsoka looked taken aback.

"What happened to your voice?" She asked while making her usual "what have you done this time Skyguy" face. Anakin rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Well… what do you remember?" She asked him

"Not much." He responded.

"Well… Maul took you about 2 weeks ago, and you've been in the halls of healing for another week after we rescued you." Ahsoka began tentatively. "But for a while they didn't think…" She trailed off again.

Anakin raised an eyebrow. He could feel Ahsoka's emotions in the force. The sorrow, the worry, the fear. Something bad had happened.

"They didn't think you were gonna make it." She whispered and looked down. "Everyone was really, really worried. I've never seen Master Kenobi act like that before."

"Act like what? What happened?" Anakin asked, concerned at how his padawan was acting. Ahsoka continued to look down at the floor.

"I've never seen him so… angry." Anakin was taken aback. Obi-Wan was someone who followed and preached the jedi code more strictly than most other jedi. While the thought of Obi-Wan breaking the code humored him; now he knew the same pain that he and Ahsoka had felt when they went and pursued the bounty hunters, he also found that he maybe… didn't want to know exactly what happened. Anakin knew, from years of trying to push his former master's buttons, that it takes a lot to get Obi-Wan worked up. And since Maul was involved… well he doubted it was pretty.

"Where is he?" Anakin asked. The door to his room suddenly opened and in walked Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin had never seen his master look so tired, so worn down before. The anger that he had in his heart faded once he saw just how spent the man was.

"Master Kenobi" Ahsoka said and sat up straight. "He just woke up." She added on, her eyes darting between the two men.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan said, his voice full of relief. "How are you feeling?" He asked. Anakin looked at Ahsoka and then back at Obi-Wan, trying to think of a response that wouldn't send them running for the nearest healer in an instant.

"Tired." He said with a shrug. He tried to play off the fact that his voice sounded so rough or that he thought the room was too cold or that his entire body felt like he had been run over by several speeders. Anakin looked between the worried looks on Ahsoka and Obi-Wan's faces. _Nice going, Skywalker._ He closed his eyes, trying to not let his own frustration get the better of him. But when he closed his eyes, all he could see was red.

 _Lord Vader. Lord Vader._ A voice called out to him. Anakin tried to look around, but no matter where he looked, all he saw was red and nothing else.

"Ahsoka?" He yelled. "Obi-Wan?!" He exclaimed.

 _Lord Vader._ The voice repeated.

"Chancellor?" Anakin asked, now realizing who the voiced belonged to. He heard the voice laugh.

"My dear boy." The voice said. "It is almost ready." He said.

"What?" Anakin yelled, panic beginning to seize his heart. "What is almost ready?"

"The order." Sidious responded.

"What order? The jedi? I don't understand!" Anakin screamed, searching for the chancellor. Ahead of him, he saw a figure standing there. He ran towards it.

"Chancellor!" Anakin exclaimed, relief flowing through his body. The silhouette was undoubtably the chancellors, but as Anakin approached, the figured quickly spun around, an ignited lightsaber in each hand and sliced downward.

Anakin gasped and opened his eyes. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were looking down at him, worry filling their eyes.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan said. Anakin winced at the volume of his former master's voice. Anakin tried to grit his teeth through the pain, but it felt as if his whole world was tilting sideways, and he was going with it. The next thing he knew, he was leaning over the side of the bed, throwing up right in front of his padawan.

"Ahsoka, go get a healer." He heard Obi-Wan say over the sound of his own dry heaving. He felt his master place a hand on his back, trying to steady him. Anakin tried to take several deep breaths and closed his eyes, but as soon as he did, he saw the sabers swinging towards him and he immediately opened them and gagged again. He could hear several people enter the room and the sensors he was hooked up to were beeping in alarm, but to Anakin, it all sounded like as if it were happening in another room. He couldn't think about how he was being forced to lay back down and someone was placing a mask over his face. The only though occupying his mind was why did the chancellor have a lightsaber?

 _And why was it red?_


	22. Chapter 22

"I loved you!" He heard Obi-Wan scream in the darkness. Anakin looked around, frantically trying to find him in the dark.

"You were supposed to destroy the sith, not join them!" He heard Obi-Wan scream, the pain raw and evident in his voice. Anakin tried to yell out his name, but no sound came out. He tried to raise his arms, but they were stuck to his side. He tried to move his legs, but the ground opened and swallowed him whole.

Anakin roughly landed on the ground, rolling down a hill and stopping on a beach. He quickly jumped back and gasped. His lungs protested inhaling the toxic air and he began to cough. The beach was next to a river of molten lava, and ahead of him he could see Obi-Wan, tears streaming down his face. He wanted to run up to him, reach out and ask him what was wrong. Ask him who had done this. He heard a strained groan and he quickly turned around. On the ground… was something. And it was moving. He watched as the thing reached out and used a mechanical hand to pull itself forward. The skin on the creature looked badly burnt and fried. There were no other limbs except for the one mechanical arm, which looked very, very familiar.

"If you loved me," The creature rasped "Then you would have killed me." Anakin was horrified. He watched as it continued to move its way up the beach and looked up when he noticed Obi-Wan walking down the slope towards it. Obi-Wan walked over towards the creature and picked it up over his head. Anakin watched as the tears streamed down his face and felt his sorrow in the force.

"Is this what you would have preferred, Anakin?" Obi-Wan said while throwing the creature into the lava below.

 _Anakin._

 _Anakin._

Anakin felt his throat _closing_. _That was him? That creature was him? What happened?_ _Why did he join the sith? Who did this? Why? What about Ahsoka? What about the war?_

 _What about Padme?_

His thoughts were racing through his head, he couldn't comprehend what was happening in front of him. His body was numb, and he didn't know where to look. How could he face Obi-Wan, knowing the horror that awaited him. Anakin felt a cold presence behind him. It sent shivers down his spine, even though he was next to a river of lava. Goosebumps lined his body and every hair stood up on end. Then he heard it.

The same heavy breathing that he heard while he was with Maul.

Anakin slowly turned around, and saw a black figure rising out of the lava before him. The lava slid off his armor, and steam curled around his body. The black mask was emotionless, but Anakin could sense the dark side rolling off him in waves. The figure walked up onto the beach, and stood at the riverbank, breathing slowly. Anakin turned back around to face his former master, and saw the fear, the horror on his face. He imagined that his looked pretty much the same.

"Yes." The figure said, his voice deep and emotionless. Anakin's eyes widened when he noticed that there was a familiar looking saber hilt hanging off the figure's belt. That was his saber's hilt. Well, it was the same build as his, but it looked like the grip had been modified. Anakin watched in horror as he ignited his saber, the red blade matching the red glow of the planet, and he cut down Obi-Wan in one motion. Anakin found his voice and screamed. A blood curling scream came out of his mouth, and he wasn't even sure if that was him making the noise. The figure stood still. Then his head slowly turned around to face Anakin.

"You're next, Skywalker." He said.

"Never." Anakin whispered, reaching for his own saber. The figure flicked his wrists and Anakin went flying into a nearby cliff. Anakin sank down to the ground, dazed from the force of the blow. He heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up and saw a pair of black boots. He kept raising his head until he finally saw the mask, but not the man behind it. He only saw his own reflection in the eyes of the mask.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him." He said as he raised his saber and swung down again.

Anakin gasped and tried to sit up, but found that he was being restrained by several hands. There was a mask covering his face, and he wanted it off now. He tried to raise his hand to take it off but was stopped. Everything was burning. He felt like as if he had just been thrown into the lava river from his dream. He couldn't breathe- his chest felt so tight that he was worried that his heart might just give out right there and then.

"Anakin, you have to calm down." He heard Obi-Wan say. He looked up and saw his former master's face above him, but instead of the look of rage from earlier, his brow was furrowed in his usual worried face.

"His vitals are all over the place! We need to stabilize him now!" He heard a healer shout from behind Obi-Wan.

"Just relax." Obi-Wan said, trying his best to keep a brave face. Anakin looked up at him, trying to blink back tears and failing He was trying. He couldn't get enough air in. He was too hot. His body wouldn't stop shaking. He cried out when a sharp object pierced his thigh. Anakin tried to fight the drowsiness, he needed to know what was going on. But the medication did its job and it dragged him down into a dreamless sleep.

Obi-Wan stepped back, and covered his mouth with his hand, afraid to say anything.

"Master Kenobi." Luminara said while walking into the room. "I understand your concern for Skywalker. But the poison Maul has given him has not fully left his system…." She trailed off and looked away from him.

"And it is more lethal than we originally thought. She said quietly. "But Skywalker is strong and young. He has a good chance of survival." She added on quickly. "We can keep you updated on his condition, and you can bring Ahsoka down later to see him."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Obi-Wan said as he bowed slightly, and then turned around to leave.

 _What was he going to tell Ahsoka?_


	23. I found

This is the last chapter of this story. Thank you all so much for reading, I really appreciated all of the love this story got. I have seriously considered making a sequel, so stay tuned. I also have other works planned, and would love if you also check them out as well. Thank you again for following this story, and a special thank you to everyone who has been reading since 2018.

* * *

Anakin slowly opened his eyes. He blinked several times, trying to get his eyes to focus on the white ceiling of the halls of healing. He took a deep breath in and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He sat there, and stared out the window, trying to keep his mind as empty as possible.

He couldn't think- no he wouldn't think about what he had seen. The things that he had done. The things that he was going to do. He looked down at his hands, one made of flesh, and the other made of metal. He had always liked his prosthetic arm- it made him unique amongst other knights and masters. Who else had lost their arm to a sith lord? He loved to tinker with it, trying to figure out ways to make it stronger, better than a human arm. But now, now he wanted to rip it off his body, and never see it again. Anything to stop him from becoming the cyborg that haunted his dreams.

Anakin thought about his presence, the way the shadows seems to bend to the sith lord's will, and he remembered.

That this wasn't the first time he had seen him.

Anakin recalled the imposing silhouette, not on mustufar, but on his home world. He remembered being scared by the shadow and running away. Only to wake up and find that it was a nightmare, and that he was safe with his mother. The monster wasn't real.

Although, he wasn't so sure of that anymore. Anakin curled his right hand into a fist and inspected his handiwork. The improvements that he had been so proud of. He closed his eyes, the scenes playing out again in his mind.

He opened his eyes.

Why did the chancellor keep showing up in his visions? Anakin frowned. Yes, the chancellor was someone who had a lot of influence over his life, and someone who he trusted dearly. But the chancellor was not force sensitive, and never mind a sith lord of some kind.

Then why did he keep showing up? Was there something that he was missing? Anakin though back to what he had seen.

"Lord Vader." The voice from earlier said. Anakin's face scrunched up in concentration, trying to figure out who's voice that was.

"It seems as though in your anger, you killed her." The voice said again. That accent… the tone.

That was the chancellor speaking. Why was he saying, 'Lord Vader?' How did he know about the sith?

Anakin opened his eyes in shock and gasped. He heard the machines begin to beep as his heart rate and blood pressure began to increase.

 _No… that's not possible. It couldn't be him._ But the more Anakin thought about how the chancellor kept showing up in his visions, the more sense it made. The red sabers, the constant presence.

 _Chancellor Palpatine is the sith lord we were looking for._ He whispered. His hands feel to his sides and he gripped his bedsheets, trying to steady his breathing. He couldn't tell anyone- and who would believe him anyway? How would be able to explain himself to the council? To Padme? What would he say?

The door opened, and in walked Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, are you alright?" He asked, noticing his friends current state.

Anakin took a deep breath in before responding "Yeah, I'm ok." He whispered. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

"We need to talk." Obi-Wan said while looking away. "May I sit down?" Anakin nodded and watched ad Obi-Wan sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Anakin… I" Obi-Wan trailed off. "I'm sorry." He said softly. Anakin blinked in surprise. Why was his master sorry? He was the perfect jedi, always trying to help others, and being sure to follow the code as well as he could.

"What?" Anakin said, not really understanding what was going on. Obi-Wan looked at him, concern in his eyes.

"The… incident. Where I went undercover." _Oh, right_. Anakin thought. _That mission._ He was honestly surprised to find that… well, that he had forgotten about it. With everything else that had happened in the past month and figuring out that the war they had been fighting for was all a big lie this morning, he was occupied with other things.

"Right, that." Anakin said, his voice empty. Truthfully, he wasn't even mad at this point. If that was the worst thing his master was going to do for the sake of war, well, then Anakin certainly had him beat. Literally. He looked back at his master's face, and saw the confusion, the concern. He wanted to say something, reach out and tell him that it was all fine, but it _wasn't._ How could he face the man who had trained him and cared for him, knowing that he would kill him and everything they hold dear? The anger he had felt before being captured was gone, but there was nothing in its place. He just felt hollow.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan sighed. "I know that you may not have agreed with my actions, but I want you to know that I was trying to act in the best interest of the jedi, of the republic." He said quickly, trying to prove his point.

"I know." Anakin responded. Obi-Wan opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"But that's not all." Obi-Wan said. "Maul capturing you…." He paused and took a deep breath. "That was my fault."

"No, it wasn't. Don't blame yourself." Anakin said and closed his eyes. He couldn't look at him. Not now. Not like this.

"It was. Anakin look at me." Anakin slowly opened his eyes. "Maul wanted you because he wanted revenge. He was using you to get his revenge, for what I had done to him. And he was almost successful."

"Well, I'm still here." Anakin said while trying to give him the same smirk he always gave. But this time, it was empty.

"It was close, Anakin. Too close." Obi-Wan said and looked away. "I had no idea… what I was going to tell Ahsoka."

 _Ahsoka._

"Where is she?" Anakin asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's around. Would you like to see her?" Anakin nodded.

"Ahsoka, come meet me in the halls of healing." Obi-Wan said into his commlink. He looked back at Anakin.

"Someone wants to see you."

Anakin watched as his master got up to leave and go get Ahsoka. When the door slid shut, Anakin allowed himself to lose his composure and felt a tear slide down his cheek.

He wouldn't let himself become a sith.

He couldn't. He'd rather die. He would rather have Obi-Wan throw him into the lava and kill him than come back as that thing.

 _As Vader._

He knew what needed to be done.

The door opened back up, and Ahsoka walked into the room, her smile fading slightly as she looked at her master. While she didn't know that much about how humans looked, she had never seen him look so sickly, so frail before. His skin was almost as white as the sheets, and there were dark circles around his eyes. His face was thinner, more hollow. But his eyes were still just as sharp as ever. If anything, she could see something else in his eyes. But she wasn't sure what it was.

"How are you feeling, master?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin shrugged. "Better, I guess. I still don't remember much, but from how everyone keeps acting, I guess I'm doing better."

"Well, to be fair, your heart did stop beating at one point." Ahsoka muttered.

"What!" Anakin exclaimed. "You never mentioned anything about that!" He said while looking at Obi-Wan.

"I wasn't sure what to say." He said softly. "I never want to see anything like that happen ever again."

"You won't. I promise." Anakin replied.

"How can you be so sure of that, Anakin? We are in a war, jedi are dying every day." Obi-Wan responded.

"We won't be at war forever. We just have to make sure we have each other's backs." Anakin said. He thought about his visons, and how he became Vader. In the end, he was alone there, but he won't be here.

"Skyguy's right." Ahsoka said while placing her hands on her hips. "We've been able to get out of every situation the war has thrown us into."

"It's like what you said on Mortis, Master." Anakin said with a small smile. "We'll be alright as long as we stick together."

Obi-Wan slowly stroked his beard. "I did say that, didn't I" he said with a small smile.

Anakin smiled as well. Ahsoka's face lit up. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her master smile, never mind him and Master Kenobi at the same time.

They were going to be alright, as long as they stuck together.


End file.
